The Persistent Past
by Shadoword
Summary: The group of friends are able to pick up where they left off in life, highschool. But now that their battles have finally been defeated, a new girl comes into the picture with battles of her own. Can they help her, even when she doesn't want it?
1. New Environment

**Authors Note:**

**Hello people. So this is just something I do whenever I'm not typing my other books. Still trying to work out the system so if things appeared screwed up in the beginning with the chapters bear with me. Just to inform you, characters from places such as Organization XIII along with Roxas and Namine are appearing in the highschool. Kingdom Hearts 2 has passed but if they died in the game, they're probably in here as background characters. Just to let you know, and the lyrics normally have nothing to do with the chapter, just songs I was listening to when I was working on it. Anyways, first chapter.**

The heartless threat has passed and now the three heroes are back at Destiny Islands and picking up where they left off, going to school. With them is Roxas and Namine, who have quickly adapted to the life that their friends live and posing as a cousin and half-sister.

When Sage comes into the picture, things start to pick up pace once again. With a past that she had fought for years coming into play, the group finds themselves helping her take on the threat that wishes to see her pay for the mistakes her screw up of a father left behind for her. However, with her attitude of not letting anyone get into her personal life, the gang is finding it hard to help someone who doesn't want it, even if their life could be on the line.

_In a world beyond controlling  
__Are you going to deny the savior  
__In front of your eyes  
__Stare into the night  
__Power beyond containing  
__Are you going to remain a slave for  
__The rest of your life  
__Give into the night_

_This self discovery  
__Redemption taking hold of my mind  
__A serenade of haunting voices  
__Calling me away  
__To feast upon the night  
__The source of my Felicity  
__Dark maiden taking hold of my hand  
__Lead me away from hibernation  
__Strong and unafraid  
__Never a question why_

_For saving me from all they've taken  
__Letting my armor fall again  
__Giving me the strength to face them  
__Feeling it taking over now  
__I'm about to take it away  
__There can be no better way of knowing__In a world beyond controlling  
__Are you going to deny the savior  
__In front of your eyes  
__Stare into the night  
__Power beyond containing  
__Are you going to remain a slave for  
__The rest of your life  
__Give into the night._

The school halls were filled with commotion as student rushed to get to their assigned classes. The first day of school tended to do this to everyone, try to get through it, make new friends, and survive the day. The school outfits consisted of light blue and white, boys with pants and pressed shirts with ties, while the girls had skirts and white shirts and ties with girls as well.

Sage was one of the students that was walking through the school. She had black hair that fell to her shoulders and to white stripes that framed her face, also bringing out her piercing cloudy gray eyes. Her body was well toned and she was around 5'7". She walked casually, her backpack thrown over her shoulder, the black and red in contrast with her outfit. To be honest the girl hated skirts, but unfortunately it was a requirement so she worked to ignore it for the hours to come.

The commotion seemed to only pick up, and she was thankful for the iPod that was blasting music by DJ Tiesto. Known for being a music junkie at her old home, she didn't plan on letting this place change that. Shadow was also known for being quiet, but not shy. While she was pretty decent with people, hundreds of friends weren't her priority. Even the three people she actually considered friends had taken a while to consider them even that. She tended to observe and worked behind the scenes, for the few people who had been able to get past her barriers it had taken them years just for her to consider them actual friends. She preferred to keep

"Hiya." Sage turned to look at who had spoken. "My name is Selphie, what's yours?" The girl had light brown hair and a huge smile on her face. Stuck in the same uniform as her, she had a small red band around her left wrist and white backpack resting on her back.

"Sage." She replied calmly, opposite of her ecstatic mood. "Do you know where the AP class for Biology is?"

The girl made a face, and Sage guess she didn't care for the class. "Second floor, if you take the stairs behind you it's the final door on the right." She replied. "So where are you-"

"Thank you for the information." She said before turning around and walking away and taking up the steps.

She made a quick turn around the bar and barely dodged running into another student. "My apologize." She said with a small dip of her head.

"No problem." The cool voice replied. She looked up into bright green eyes. The student was slightly taller than her, with shoulder-length silver-like hair and was fairly built. His backpack was slung over one shoulder, similar to her, and he was heading in the opposite direction of her.

In less that a second they had analyzed each other and nodded before continuing on, Riku hearing as the music came clearly through her headphones.

"Hey." He called over his shoulder, resting on the bottom step while she was at the top of the stairs.

To his slight surprised she actually turned around. "Yeah?"

"New here, right?" In return he received a nod.

"Sage." She said, implying as to her name.

"Riku." He replied. "Good luck."

"Ditto." He smirked and turned away, continuing on while she also had a smirk of her own before heading down the hallway towards where the Biology class was supposed to be, ready to try and survive what the day had in store.

XXXXXX

Lunch, Sage considered it a time to blast music, ignore everyone, and just enjoy the break that was given to them. She also loved the fact off-campus lunch was available, something she planned on applying that option at the moment. There was a small cafe just a block away from the school, so she walked in and was immediately met with the aroma of pastries.

Like it looked on the outside, it was small, but comfortable. Neutral tones of light browns and creams colored the walls and a pattern of forest green leaves surrounded the cafe. It had small metal tables and chairs, while the patio outside underneath the awning provided seating covered with shade.

There was no line as Sage walked up to the counter, and a blond girl, probably fresh out of high school smiled and asked, "Hello, welcome to Calm of the Islands Cafe, how can I help you today?"

"How about a large strawberry protein shake." The girl typed something on the cash register. "Will that be all?" Sage nodded and payed for the drink before waiting, leaning against the other end of the counter where they passed out the drinks.

As she waited the bell over the door rang once again, and she looked from the corner of her eyes to see a girl with shoulder-length red hair, bright blue eyes that reflected off the light, and a kind smile on her lips walk in. With her was another girl, who looked immensely similar to her. This one had almost the same hairstyle while hers was a faded blond in color, same colored eyes and same soft smile as well. Sage immediately assumed twins. Both were in the same school uniform as her.

"Hello you two." The woman behind the counter greeted. "What can I get you?"

"Just the normal Samantha." The red-head said kindly. The woman nodded and immediately went about making their order.

"Miss Sage, your drink is ready." The cold beverage was given to her over the counter and she nodded her thanks before taking her black shade sunglasses and and sliding them on, the frames thin and complimenting her face well.

"Wait." She paused at the exit and turned to see the blond girl had spoken. "I don't believe I've seen you before, and seeing as you are wearing that uniform I take it you go to our school?" She gave a small laugh, and Sage could hear the innocence in it.

"I just moved here." She replied politely, still near the door.

"Oh, well I'm Namine, and this is Kairi."

"Hello." Kairi greeted, smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I'm Sage." She replied. This time she reached for the door and opened it. "Pleasure." she said, nodding slightly and heading out.

"See you around." Namine said, and Sage held up an arm and gave a half wave, not looking back. "I wonder where she moved from?"

"I don't know." Kairi said. "But doesn't she look familiar?" She commented, walking up to get their drinks that were just finished.

"I don't think so." Namine said slowly.

"Maybe one of the guys will know more. Or Selphie, she's probably already picked her out and would have talked with her." They both giggled as they left the store, heading back to the school.

XXXXXX

Finally, her last period. It also happened to be her least favorite, Algebra, which sucked beyond belief. However, once this was done she had work to do so Sage just wanted to get through it as quickly as possible. The classroom was already filling up as it was five minutes until class started. Sage once again took a seat near the back and by a window. She preferred these, normal students who were shy or had no life sat back here so they didn't talk much, and the more active ones were in the front and didn't really care to come near the back.

She kept her iPod out and switched the music over to something a little darker, going for Korn. She just sat there and let her mind wonder as she looked out the window, before she noticed a presence slide into the seat next to her. "Hiya!" Turning, she saw a boy with spiky brown hair, seeming to go in all directions, and soft light blue eyes. He seemed about her height, and looked like he got plenty of activity in. He also had a an upbeat essence around him. "My name's Sora, who are you?"

"Sage." She replied

"That's a nice name. So you new here?" She nodded and he continued to talk to her with an ecstatic attitude. "So what do you do besides school?"

"I work at a music shop." She replied.

"That's so cool! So you play any instruments?"

But she shook her head. "No, I'm a music junkie, but I don't make it." Just as he was about to ask another question, the teacher came in. "Alright students, let's get to work." two sheets of paper were passed out, one with instructions for the class, the second was their schedule for the year. "So we have a new student this year, Miss Nightstalker, please stand up." Sage gave an inward sigh as she stood up, the entire class looking at her. "Alright now, go ahead, come up." Sage did so and soon stood in front of the classroom, in a relaxed stance but Sora noticed how she didn't care for the attention. And he couldn't blame her, currently all the guys were gawking at her while the girls studied her like she was some type of project. "So tell us about yourself."

"Just moved here. Junior. Music junkie and I hate drama." She smirked. "That about sums it up."

The teacher had slightly wider eyes but nodded. "Alright then. Um, you may proceed back to your seat." She went back up the stairs and to her seat, lowering herself into it while Sora just stared at her.

"Don't really like people?" He asked.

"Some people are fine, others are just morons. I don't care for talking if it's discussing something irrelevant, but I do appreciate the fact when someone can actually hold up their end of the argument." That was probably the most he had ever heard her say.

"Oh." He replied. She smirked some. "Make you uncomfortable?"

"No, it's just, I've never heard anyone talk about it like that." She nodded in an understanding way as the teacher inserted a few words before letting everyone officially free talk for the rest of class.

Sage pulled out her iPod and noticed Sora looking at it. Without saying anything she casually handed it over, startling him for a moment before he took it and started to scroll through the music. "How big is it?"

"64GB." She said, looking through her backpack. "Hey, do you know of any places to buy good food?"

"Oh yeah! There's this place called Clear Waters right next to the beach. Great view and plus they have awesome food." He said, handing the iPod back to her.

"Thanks, maybe I'll check it out later on tonight." she said.

"Hey! A couple of friends of mine are heading over there after this class, want to come?"

"Thanks, but like I said, I have work." She zipped her backpack up and soon the bell rang, signaling their freedom.

Sora looked disappointed by this. "Oh, ok." Then he cheered up. "Maybe another time when you're not so busy?"

"Sounds good." _Hell no._ She thought, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you." He said, getting up as well. She nodded her farewells then started out the classroom, dodging the other students as she made her down the long corridors.

She saw Riku, a pack of guys was with him as well. One with immensely spiky red hair and what looked like tattoos of tear drops under his eyes grinned and pointed at her, talking to someone else while looking at Sage. She smirked, and he turned his head briefly.

When he looked back, she was gone.


	2. Forced into Introductions

_I created the sound of madness  
__Wrote the book on pain  
__Somehow I'm still here  
__To explain  
__That the darkest hour never comes in the night  
__You can sleep with a gun  
__When you gonna wake and and fight...for yourself?_

_I'm so sick of this tombstone mentality  
__If there's an afterlife  
__Then it'll set you free  
__But I'm not gonna part the seat  
__You're a self-fulfilling prophecy  
__You think that ccrying to me  
__Looking so sorry that I'm gonna believe  
__You've been infected by a social disease  
__Well then take your medicine._

Feet pounding into the cement, music blasting into her ears, hair tied back, and dressed in a pair of shorts and light t-shirt, Sage continued on to do her four miles each morning before she officially started the day. It didn't take much for her to have that relaxed feeling flowing through her as she made her way off the city streets and onto a beaten path in the forest that surrounded the town. The leaves crunched under her feet as she continued to run, noting the time on her watch, 5:40.

The path was deserted, the light was enough for her to make out the path, and everything looked serene, a song from a video game soundtrack coming up to match her current mood. She was content, maybe not joyous happy, but still feeling pretty good, despite her situation.

A split path came up and she saw something moving through the forest. Still keeping her pace, she kept an eye out and was wary as she was about to come up at the intersection.

Silver hair suddenly landed next to her as Riku came up next to her as he ran, dressed in loose black pants and a white shirt. He also had a headset playing his own iPod. He looked over and smirked, with her returning the action. She had on her black shades again, and now that Riku had seen her somewhere else besides school, he actually felt like he got a real look at her as a person.

"You know this path well?" She asked, not even breaking her breathing after the first mile and a half.

"Yeah, four miles each day if you take the right trails." He glanced over. "Interested?"

"Lead the way." She grinned and they both automatically picked up the pace, almost an unspoken challenge sparking between them.

Around half an hour later they came out of the forest, both gasping for breath as they stopped from their straight run. The last half mile had been, literally, a race. Sage waved him over, still not speaking as she caught her breath, to the parking lot for the park. In one of the lanes was a black and silver Yamaha motorcycle. Her backpack was strapped to it securely and she opened it up, taking out two water bottles and passing one to Riku. Normally she would drink three straight after a run, but she decided to help him out. He took it gratefully and drank deeply, their heartbeats finally starting to settle down.

"New record." Sage said. Riku looked at her curiously. "Don't think I've done four miles in that time." She grinned.

"Same here." He agreed, taking another drink. It was silent for a moment, and slightly odd since neither of them knew what to say.

"So what do you think of Destiny Islands so far?" Riku asked.

"Not a bad place. Everyone is pretty friendly for the most part, which is pretty odd. But other than that, I like it." She shrugged.

Riku laughed. "Yeah, everyone can be pretty easy going, except for a rare few. Like Selphie, the girl is just as hyper as they get, she can keep you entertained with anything if she had too."

"So any thugs or morons I should know about?" Sage asked, somewhat jokingly but Riku could hear the slight wariness in her voice.

He thought for a moment, but shook his head. "Besides the guys at school that are going to be pestering you for a long while, no, not really."

"Oh joy." She said sarcastically. She glanced at her watch as her alarm went off. "Six thirty. I better get going." She said.

"Yeah." Riku said. "Thanks for the drink."

"Thanks for the race." She smirked.

"See you at school." He said before turning around and walking back into town. She smirked and shook her head as she got on the motorcycle and kick-started the engine, the machine coming to life. She allowed a faint smile before she backed out and started to make her way onto the public streets before she revved the engine and the tires attacked the cement below them.

Riku looked over when the motorcycle came past him, and he saw Sage raise her hand and give a slight wave before it made a sharp turn and made its way down a different street. He checked his own watch and sighed before downing the rest of the water bottle and picking up a jog back to his house.

XXXXXX

"Alright class, today were going to be going over basic fighting techniques as a refresher before we move on." Mr. Carter said. The man had a strict army cut for his light blond hair and he had a scar that went from his jaw down his left neck. It was obvious he worked out and did weight lifting, the man was a monster with muscles, and Sage could easily presume that he had been in the military at one time or another.

"We're going to do swords first, everyone get the forms signed?" The forms he was referring to needed to be signed by their parents that the student was liable enough to use weapons and any damage caused by them or done to them was not the schools responsibility, just to make sure they didn't get sued.

Everyone handed in their forms and when Sage stepped up to hand him hers he looked her over. "You ever fight before?" Of course, new girl, he had to see if she could pull it off.

Sage had a small smirk on her face. "Definitely."

"Alright then, we'll see what you got during class, grab a sword and stand at attention against the wall." she walked over the rack of weapons and saw the rows of swords. The blade was probably about two feet in length and the hilt was simple but durable. She picked one up and felt that it was well balanced, pleased that the school didn't invest in cheap equipment.

The students had lined up against the wall and Mr. Carter called out names for students to pair up in the large room. There was the gym, and then the combat room. About the size of a football field, maybe less, there were mats scattered on one half of the room from the main entrance for sparring while the other half near the entrance had various items for fighting. An adjoining room no doubt held all of the weapons that they would use throughout the room. The walls were an off white while the floor was a padded black and large windows near the tall roof let in the natural sunlight.

"Sage Nightstalker and Kairi Jounetsu." Both girls walked to one of the sparing mats and Sage recognized her as the red head from the cafe.

"Hi Sage." She greeted warmly.

Sage dipped her head. "Kairi." She replied.

"So what do you think of the school so far?"

"Provides challenges in my favorite classes, I like that. The teachers are pretty cool." She said with a shrug. "Have you been here long?"

"I've lived on Destiny Islands my whole life, been going to the local schools here too." Kairi replied. It was at that moment the teacher decided to step in. "Alright people, battle stances. Remember, you have three correct poses, however, once you've picked one of the three you are allowed to take on one that you feel comfortable in, even if it isn't an acknowledged pose."

Kairi chose one of the correct poses before taking on a stance where her left foot was slightly in front of her right and the blade was held in her two hands in front of her. Sage repeated the first step, before she dropped down to where her right leg was behind her and most of her weight was on it while the left one stretched in front of her, the blade in both hands as she held the hilt to her right shoulder.

"Alright, let's review techniques." Sage wasn't really surprised to learn Kairi was familiar with the basics of fighting. She didn't seem like one that wouldn't take well to fighting, she had that attitude of refusing to be defenseless.

While Sage acknowledged this Kairi was also thinking about her partner's sparring skills. She seemed well familiar with blades, and moved like the basics were something she had repeated thousands of times and did it without thinking. Sage also had a habit of keeping her face vacant of emotions and a calculating look in her eyes, which led Kairi to believe that she took fighting seriously. It wasn't like no one in the room was reckless with the blades, it's just Sage looked at it from a different point of view.

Half an hour into the class most of the students were starting to slow down from the heavy weight of the blades. Mr. Carter then told everyone that that would be it for the day, giving them half an hour before they were allowed to move onto lunch. Kairi and Sage, however, didn't show any signs of fatigue. Mr. Carter came over. "Well done you two, I will be expecting this kind of practice in future classes, understood?"

"Yes sir." Sage replied.

"Got it Mr. Carter." Kairi smiled. He returned her smile. "Ah, yes." He seemed to remember something as he looked at Sage, glancing at a clipboard in his hand. "Sage, I'm going to be needing the name of your main weapon. If you don't have one then we can do some after hours where we will experiment with the different kinds so you may find one. Later on in the class we'll be using them so it's mandatory."

Sage waited for him to finished then nodded. "I have two sir. For long rang I tend to use guns, while in close combat my specialty is daggers."

Mr. Carter nodded then wrote the information down. "Alright, we can provide the weapons for you later on-"

This time she did interrupt. "That will be unnecessary sir, I'll just bring the ones from my home and stash them in my locker until this class."

The teacher acknowledged this. "Ok, just make sure you're locker is secured so no one attempts to break into it."

"Yes sir." She replied. The bell rang, signaling it was time for lunch. Sage grabbed her stuff and started for the door, noticing Kairi jogging to catch up before slowing to a walk next to her. "Hey, would you like to eat with my friends and I?" She offered.

"That's alright. I don't want to intrude." She seriously didn't, and it wasn't to be courteous to her classmate.

"It's ok, besides, I think you'll like one of my friends. His name is Riku, you kinda remind me of him." Sage glanced over and smirked. After deciding that the girl wouldn't leave her alone she just nodded. "Ok. Where you guy's having lunch at?"

"Today we're just eating outside. There's a table we always save for just us." She replied. "Come on!" She grabbed Sage's wrist and pulled her along, weaving through the students and outside. Sage resisted the urge to snap her wrist, she didn't have anything against the girl, it's just she wasn't very fond of contact with other people.

The outside grounds were vibrant and full of life. Lush grass filled the space where the cement sidewalks didn't cover and large trees provided plenty of shade for everyone. Students sat on the grass and under trees as they talked in packs and ate their lunch. One of these packs is where Kairi dragged her to. "Hey guys!"

Just so happened, Riku and Sora were two of the 'friends' she had been referring to. Namine was there as well, and another boy that she could have sworn was Sora's twin, with the exception of blond hair. They were all sitting under one of the large trees in the area, their backpacks thrown to the side and talking. Riku was leaning up against the trunk of the tree and Sora was lying down in the grass, his feet facing away from the group while his head was towards them, looking up so he could see them from his position. The blond boy and Namine were sitting next to each other across from Sora.

They looked up at Kairi's call and smiled waving at them as they came over. "Guys, this is Sage." she introduced. "Sage, you already met Namine. This is Sora, Riku, and Roxas."

"I've already met those two." Sage replied, indicating Sora and Riku. "Nice to meet you Roxas." She said, looking at him.

"Same here. You new here?"

"Yeah."

"Sage is having lunch with us today." Kairi said, dropping her backpack and sitting down on the soft grass. She looked up and motioned for Sage to sit down. Setting her backpack aside, she also sat down, trying to work with the skirt.

"It possible for girls to get uniforms other than skirts?" She asked Kairi and Namine.

"Skirts not your thing?" Sora laughed.

"I hate them with a passion." She confirmed, making Sora and Roxas laugh while Riku smirked.

"After a while if teachers are pleased with your behavior and work then you are able to request to wear pants instead of skirts. They just have to be acceptable."

"How long does it normally take?"

Kairi shrugged. "About a month or so. Then you just ask one of the teachers for a recommendation to give to the Principal to approve."

"One month, got it." Sage said, inwardly growling in irritation.

"So who wants to go get the food?" Roxas asked.

"No way, I got it yesterday." Sora said. Namine shook her head and Kairi made a face.

"Hey Riku..." Namine let it carry out and he rolled his eyes, standing up.

"Alright. I'll get it." Riku motioned for Sage to stand up and she did so without waiting for an explanation, at the same time not really expecting him to carry six trays. "The normal for everyone?"

"Yes please." Kairi said and he nodded before starting to walk back towards the cafeteria. Sage just walked next to him, making a map in her head where the cafeteria was as well. The first couple of seconds were silent until he was the one that broke it. "So I see Kairi got you to eat with us."

"Yeah, kind of not out of free will either." Riku grinned. "Yeah, sounds like Kairi." They walked into the line and waited as it slowly moved on.

"So how long have you known everyone?" She asked.

"Sora and I have been friends since literally age one. Met Kairi around the age of five. Roxas and Namine were a couple of years ago."

"Roxas looks like Sora's twin, and Namine looks like she could be related to Kairi too." Riku nodded at this statement.

"Yeah, Roxas is actually Sora's half brother while Namine is Kairi's cousin." He lied casually. "They get that a lot."

"I'm sure." They came up to the line and grabbed six trays. For the other two Riku told her what to get before she got her own things and they slid it down to the cashier. "Hello Riku." The older woman greeted as she took the money. "Today you'r the delivery boy?"

He smirked. "Yeah, everyone was having a hard time getting up." The lady laughed and handed him back change. "You have a good day dear." He nodded and balanced three trays of packed food while Sage took another three, except she had grabbed the other two girls food, so they were noticeably lighter.

Riku glanced over and saw Kairi's and Namine's tray, then saw hers. "Aren't you going to eat anything?" Sage had just grabbed a bottle of water and an apple.

"Not really hungry at the moment, I normally grab dinner after school." She replied. Riku did see that she was pretty strong and not an anorexic thin, so he dropped it. When they were back outside they walked back to the gang, who turned to their approach. "Thanks guys!" Kairi said, taking the tray Sage offered her, then gave Namine hers. As soon as Sora and Roxas had their food it started to get devoured by them. "Sora!" Kairi said. "Roxas!" Namine did the same, adding a light whack on his shoulder. "Can't you guys ever eat without risking choking yourselves?"

The two looked at each other. "Maybe." Sora said, a goofy grin on his face. Roxas laughed and nodded before they started eating again. Riku was more civilized than them. Kairi and Nomine were talking about going to the mall later on. Sora was saying how Roxas and Riku had to go with him to some food place later that day, and Sage had flipped her lunch tray over to rest a laptop on it that she had taken out of her backpack. Turning it on, she bit into the green apple and a few minutes later was opening up Itunes and scrolling through the music, thousands of songs moving under the scroll feature. Sora had happened to glance over and almost choked on the burger he had been chewing at the moment. "Holy cow!"

Sage glanced up, her eyes questioning. "Something wrong?"

"That's a lot of music!" He took her laptop before she could protest and turned it around to show Roxas. Riku, out of curiosity, looked over the blonds shoulder, and was surprised. "That's a wide variety." He commented. He recognized some of the artists and soundtracks, a lot of them to various video games. Some bands were classified as dance, he noticed bands like Korn and Disturbed, remembering the type of music they played.

"Variety is good." Sage replied taking her laptop back. Kairi looked and saw Fergie, "Wow, you have Fergie?" Sage nodded once and took another bite of her apple, not looking up from the screen. "Something wrong with that?" She wondered.

"No no no!" Kairi said, shaking her head, "Just don't look like someone who would like her music." Sage looked over this time and raised an eyebrow, making Kairi give a nervous smile. "Alright then." She just shrugged, looking back to the computer. Kairi glanced at Namine who only shrugged as well.

The rest of the lunch passed quickly, with Sage not saying much as she went through various files on her computer. When the lunch hour ended she shut down the computer and got up with everyone else. "So Sage, would you like to get some ice cream with us after school?" Namine offered.

But the raven haired girl shook her head. "No thanks, I have work to get to afterwords."

"Really, where do you work at?" Roxas asked.

"She works at a music store." Sora said for her. "Makes sense, being a music junkie and all." he grinned at Sage and she smirked slightly.

"Yeah, I enjoy it." She threw her backpack over her shoulder. "Thanks for the lunch." She said, everyone saying goodbye as she walked away. It wasn't until she got inside the school that her cellphone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she smiled some and stepped off to the side, going through one of the school's side exits and walking around the field as she flipped it open. "This is Sage."

"Sage!" the hyper voice cried. "Woman! you haven't called in ever!"

"Denise." Sage replied calmly. "It's been two days."

"Exactly! 48 hours of no contact! With you we were worried you died or something!" Sage smiled sadly.

"Sora Denise. Just been busy down here." She said, leaning against a tree. She still had about ten minutes till her next class. "So how is everyone?"

"Jason and Tyler miss you, even though Jason doesn't show it. I miss my shopping buddy." Sage grinned while Denise laughed. "Tyler hates it that you aren't here to demolish him at Halo and Jason is annoyed that his partner for the garage is gone."

"Has he found a replacement yet?" She asked.

"No, everyone that he interviews he either doesn't call back or he'll kick them out halfway into it. It's going to be hard to find someone to fill your shoes."

"I hope he finds someone soon." Sage said. A silence fell between them before Denise's voice didn't sound so cheery anymore.

"Do you think you'll be able to come back soon?" She asked.

Sage sighed, resting her head on the trunk of the tree. "I'm sure at some point I'll be back Denise, don't worry about that. But I'm not entirely sure soon. Just give me some time to throw this tracker off then I'll be back when I know everyone and everything is safe. OK?"

"Fine." Denise said in a dejected tone. "But you have to call more often!" Yep, that fire was back.

"Understood." Sage replied. "Alright, Denise I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Sage!" She said cheerily before hanging up the phone. Sage smiled some before hanging hers up as well and throwing it into her bag, lightly jogging back to the school and towards her next class.


	3. Background Information

_Looking back at the beginning of this  
__And how life was  
__Just you and me and love and all of our friends  
__Living life like an ocean_

_But now the current's only pulling me down  
__It's getting harder to breathe  
__It won't be to o long and I'll be going under  
__Can you save me from this?_

_'Cause it's not my time, I'm not going  
__There's a fear in me and it's not showing  
__This could be the end of me  
__And everything I know, ooh, but I won't go_

She'd been here for a whole week now, and the weekend had finally come. She had to admit, even though the week had gone smoothly, she was looking forward to the break. Currently it was Saturday, and around nine in the morning. She had taken the pleasure of sleeping in to eight, and after an enjoyable shower she now found herself propped up on the couch enjoying a game of Resident Evil 5.

She currently lived in a a small and simple two bedroom house with a bathroom. As you came in through the front door you would find the living room to the right, a couch up against the wall that faced the TV that was against the outside wall, a simple and small wooden coffee table between them. A large window was against the far right wall that exposed the bright green yard outside it.

To the left was a small kitchen, there was no place for even a small sit-down table, she always ate either on the go, in the kitchen, or in the living room. Between the two rooms there was a an isle that led to the back of the house, at the end of the hallway both rooms were apposite of each other. The bathroom was in between them at the end of the hallway.

The house was painted in neutral tones of a light gray with normally black furniture. However, instead of a depressed look, the place had a modern day elegance to it. Her bedroom had a plain one person bed in the far left corner while across from that there was a large stereo system, with a bookcase against the wall across from the bed and a window right next to it. The closet was to the right of the entrance, and fairly large.

The room opposite of it was her basic office. It had a desk in the center of the right wall and the one opposite of it the entire wall was made into shelving, with CD's filling every shelf. The wall across from the door held a window that almost took up the entire space. Her black desk currently had her laptop resting on it surrounded by paperwork. Out of the entire house it was probably the only area that was in a disheveled state.

This was her home, whether she didn't come here by choice or not.

She had once lived in Delthern, a city about a days drive away from Destiny Islands. Delthern was where she had grown up, with not the best of memories, but she had liked the place. Throughout her time living there she had made three close friends.

Jason was the oldest out of all of them. He was a sophomore, like her, and sixteen years old, just older by a couple months. He had actually been her first friend, surprisingly. She had met him one day when she was around the age of five, having caught him practicing his snowboarding on one of the hills that she had been walking that day. Being as quiet as he was, it wasn't until they had both were able to make their way into an auto shop class a couple years before high school, his father having been the teacher, that they had really gotten into a great friendship. Disheveled blond hair, at least just under six foot, he had some of the brightest lime green eyes that she had ever encountered. Also a consistent snowboarder, having an extremely well toned body and reputation for always being the one to walk away from a fight, leaving his opponents bloody and broken if he was pissed off enough. He was also one of the most anti-social people she knew, and how he became friends with Tyler and Denise, she'd never know.

Tyler was the more free willed one. With dark brown hair that was spiked, but not as much as Sora's, he had dark blue eyes set against tanned skin. It also made sense, since he was out in the sun all the time surfing. If there was one thing he couldn't get enough of, it was the water. She remembered being dragged along once to one of his competitions here in Destiny Islands with the other two, watching him she noticed that when out on the water it was one of the few times he got serious about matters. He was similar to Denise, always smiling and cracking jokes even when the situations weren't that great.

Finally, there was Denise, one of the most hyper people she had ever met. Long brown hair that was always a tangled mess, she wore thin wired glasses in front of green eyes. She was around 5'6", and an avid roller skater. When given her favorite her pair of blades, the woman could do some amazing things. She was insanely thin, just not in an unhealthy way. Denise could also eat like there was no tomorrow and never gained the weight since she was always bouncing off the walls.

Those were her three friends, the people that had stuck with her throughout the years. They had been there for her when life hadn't been as gracious, with their parents filling in for hers during the time hers were unavailable, even every now and then letting her crash on their couch for a couple days at a time.

Her parent's weren't always around. Her mother had died when she was young, around seven, and after that her father had taken comfort in alcohol. While she had never bothered calling him by his supposed title, she believed parents had to earn that right, she could say she learned a great deal of things from him. Like how to endure pain, both physical and mental. How to pick locks of various kinds. Living with him had also encouraged her to take self defense and hand-to-hand combat classes that she had widened her basis of fighting on. While these weren't things that every girl should have known by her age, she wasn't complaining, these skills indeed come in handy later on in life once she had been introduced to the drug lords her father had been borrowing money from. Least to say, she got plenty of practice then.

Sure, life could have been better, but after everything she had learned in her sixteen years of breathing, she wasn't complaining. Besides, she always did enjoy the challenges life threw at her.

The game currently sat on pause as Sage went into the kitchen opening up the fridge to grab a soda. As she kicked it shut her cellphone started ringing, she didn't bother with a house phone, and she walked over to the counter to where it rested. Glancing at the caller ID she smirked and flipped it open. "This is Sage." She said, opening up the large bottle of Mt. Dew.

"Let me guess, soda, Resident Evil, house entirely unpacked." Sage smirked some.

"You know me so well Jason." She commented. "Yeah, I got the place unpacked around day three. Thought I'd take the weekend off."

"So everything had been going well?" He inquired in the deep calm tone of his. She remembered how it had seemed somewhat cold to her when she first met him, but after growing accustomed to it she was able to pull out the hints of emotion that it would reveal.

"For the most part yes." She replied, walking and falling back down on the couch. Just like Denise's phone call, they lapsed into silence.

"Any sign of the reason why you had to move?" They both knew what he was talking about.

"No. I'm thinking maybe a year, year and a half, and if there's no complications then maybe I'll come back. But if it happens again then I'll just go over to Traverse Town about a couple days drive away and restart the process." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, suddenly having the week catch up with her. "So how's the shop?"

"Pretty good. People are morons." She heard a low chuckle and laughed some as well.

"Have you been looking into replacements?"

"I just said people are morons. The ones that come in look like they haven't seen the insides of a car in their life. They can't even change the damn oil." He muttered some other insults under his breath.

"Just make sure you keep looking, you can't take on everything at work by yourself."

"Yeah, I will. Just remember, when you get back here there's going to be a spot waiting for you." Sage smiled faintly.

"Thanks Jason, I appreciate it."

"No problem. Get some rest, alright? I'm meeting up with Tyler since we have some things to plan out."

"Alright, I'll do that. Be careful and make sure the others don't kill themselves on accident." She smirked. "Heaven knows they have that natural ability."

"Very true. Later Sage."

"Later Jason." She snapped her phone shut and let her head fall back against the couch, closing her eyes briefly. After looking back at the game she decided she was done with it and shut off the console before heading into her room. While she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to sleep, she did think that having the soft mattress underneath her would help get rid of some of the soreness in her body, working in a warehouse full of CD's all week along with wearing a stupid skirt was taking its tole. Going over to her stereo, she put in a CD by Delerium and let the soothing music start playing from the speakers before going over and falling onto her bed, smiling faintly at the feel of the pillow underneath her head. _Enjoy it while it lasts._ She thought. _Two day weekends are to damn short._


	4. Warning

_Late night make a run with the devil  
__High beams blast the track at full steam  
__Fork in the road but I'm on the get go  
__So hold on tight tear up the concrete  
__One eye open lookin out for cops  
__The other ones hopin just to keep 'er straight  
__My right hands reaching for the right to shift  
__My left hands always pullin to the passin lane  
__Hit it, I'm lookin outside my life keeps flashin by  
__I move around but I'm always against the wind  
__Enjoy the ride and just hang on_

_Drive it all night  
__Launch it straight from hell  
__And hang it on the edge  
__Fueled by adrenaline  
__Lady luck don't fail me I'm at it again  
__Fueled by adrenaline_

Sage growled a curse as her phone started ringing next to her bed from its position on the floor, rolling over on the bed and glancing at the clock on the stereo. Grabbing the small device, she didn't bother with the ID as she flipped it open, her voice anything but contained. "It's four in the frickin morning." She barked. "What kind of moron are you?"

"Wow Sage, long night?" Sage recognized Denise's voice over the phone and silently cursed again.

"Denise, why are you calling this early? It's a weekend." She groaned, letting her head fall into the pillow as she held the phone to her ear.

"Listen, the guys and I talked last night and they said to call you ASAP. And since you're used to early mornings, I figured it was alright."

"Four in the morning." She reminded.

"Stop whining and go to bed early tonight. Listen, we need you to do something." Sage became slightly more alert and less annoyed.

"What's wrong?" She asked, completely serious.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Denise said quickly. "Listen. Like I said, we were talking and decided something." Sage stayed silent and her friend took this as a sign to continue. "Ok, we decided that you need to make sure you open up to people more while you're gone."

Sage didn't say anything as her eyes narrowed slightly. Denise couldn't even hear her breathing and knew she hit a nerve. "Listen, if something happens to you we want to know that there are people down there that can help you out, at least long enough for us to make the drive!"

"I'm fine. I can hold my own long enough." Sage finally said, her voice cold.

"Sage, you're strong, but if you overdo it then what would happen if someone gets to you when you can't defend yourself? Please, all we're asking is that you don't block people out. You remember how long it took before you acknowledged Tyler with something else other than a threat?" Sage smirked, but only barely. "Yeah, well don't be that stubborn while you are at the islands. Let people know you actually acknowledge their existence."

Sage muttered something under her breath. "What was that?"

"You three suck." She repeated. Denise giggled softly on the other side.

"You know it's because we care about you." Sage sighed softly and nodded.

"I'll...try. But I can't make any promises."

"That's all we ask." Denise said. Sage heard a yawn on the other side and chuckled.

"Get some sleep Denise."

"Same goes for you. We'll talk to you later." Sage said goodbye and snapped the phone shut, staring blankly at the floor. The digital clock showed it was now 4:15 that morning, and she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Glancing around, she saw her daggers and remembered she needed to get them sharpened. Deciding it was something to do, she got up and grabbed her laptop, opening it and setting it down on her bed as she powered it up, needing to find a place that could supply her with the materials.

XXXXXX

Sunday morning. The normally sunny and warm weather that Destiny Islands was currently cloudy and showing signs of rain and a light breeze was present as well. The leaves swayed slightly as the wind made it's way through the green pieces of nature as people still made their way throughout the town square, carrying on with their everyday lives. Among this crowd was Namine, humming softly to herself as she continued to walk in the direction of the piers. Today the waves were picking up, so a lot of people were taking the opportunity to go surfing with their friends. Sora and Roxas were among this group, and she wasn't sure if Riku would be there, Kairi hadn't said.

Namine smiled as a group of students from her school greeted her as they walked back, returning the greeting as she turned down a street. It didn't take long for her to get on the final street and saw the islands in the distance behind the crashing waves. As she was walking by one of the stores known for supplying their unique weapons, she turned, without knowing why, and saw Sage there, talking to the clerk behind the counter. The girl seemed to be emotionless as she talked, and was dressed in all black, most of the outfit covered by the long black trench coat that flared out some after it hit her waist and the only part really exposed were the solid army boots she wore. The clerk, however, was talking animatedly and replying to her short words, who she immediately recognized as Axel.

_There's only one way to get him that excited._ She thought, changing her direction to walk to the store. _You need to know the weapons you're talking about._ It was true, Axel had an obsession with various weapons, probably had the most information than anyone on the islands or mainland, even though he only used his chakras during fights. As she got closer she started overhearing the conversation.

"So think you can have them ready by tomorrow?" Sage asked, looking directly at Axel even though the door opened, the bell signaling the action.

"You bet." He grinned. "Got them on you?" Namine's eyes widened as Sage pushed her coat aside, her hands crossing across her waist and resting on the hilts of two blades before smoothly pulling them out. The blades were about less than a foot in length, without including the hilts. The outer edges were a razor black with a pure silver inside, with the metal curving inwardly for smoother strikes. The hilts of the two blades were wrapped in cloths, once again black. "You already got the material ordered?" She tossed the blades in the air and caught them, hilts now facing Axel as she set them on the counter.

"Those will be here in a couple days." Axel said, taking the blades carefully and the sheaths that Sage handed over as well.

"How much I owe you?" Sage asked, pulling out her wallet from inside a deep pocket in her jacket.

"How about this." Axel started, a smirk on his face. "I sharpen your daggers you fight me afterwards. You know your weapons, and I wanna see that knowledge in action."

Sage returned the smirk, and Namine for a brief moment was worried about Axel. "Sounds good. Just don't screw up on the job."

"You got it. Have a good one." Sage nodded in return and started for the door, greeting the blond haired girl standing there. "Namine." She said, walking out.

Namine, in turn, just remembered why she came in there, and spun around to run after Sage. "Hey! Sage!" She called, making the teenager turn around to glance over her shoulder. "Would you like to come to the beach with us? The guys are surfing and Kairi is there as well." She offered. Sage immediately opened her mouth to give the expected 'no thanks', but Namine watched as she paused and her head bowed for a second, thinking. Then came something the blond never expected. "Alright, sure." Sage replied, looking up at her.

"Really?" Namine said. Sage nodded and the girl smiled, obviously very happy. "Great! Come on!" She didn't grab Sage's arm, but waved her to follow as she started walking. Her companion kept pace easily as they made their way to the piers. The sky was still cloudy and Sage relished the weather, remembering some fond memories she had in it.

"So what were you doing at the weapons store?" Namine asked.

"Daggers needed to be sharpened." Sage replied. "Axel didn't have the materials to sell to me, but he was able to sharpen them their with the store's."

"Oh." Namine said. "Well then you don't have to worry about them. Axel may be an energetic pyro, be when it comes to weapons he's very professional."

"That's nice to know." She commented as their feet hit the wooden planks that made up one of the multiple docks along the beach.

"Kairi!" Namine called, waving at the red-head. Kairi turned to see her friend and smiled, waving back. When she then noticed Sage she waved even harder.

"Hi Namine. Hello Sage." She greeted as they walked up to her. "It's nice to see you here." Sage nodded in return as Namine asked where the guys were.

"Sora and Roxas are already out there. I'm not sure about Riku, I had to leave a message." She turned back as a wave came up, and they could see two bodies proceed to stand on their boards as the wave carried on, the beings obviously enjoying themselves. Sage recognized Sora and Roxas' hair styles and smirked as they did idiotic tricks.

"Are they always...?" Sage let her question hang out in the open, and Namine giggled.

"Yeah, but that's what makes them, them. And it also makes them great friends, they can always lighten the mood when needed." Sage raised her eyebrows at this, but said nothing and looked back at the two that had now crashed into the water.

"Not very skilled, are they?"

"Nah, I'm the one that knows how to do it right." All three turned around to see Riku there. He had a large red and black board under his arm as had on deep red swim trunks. He smirked slightly, his silver bangs falling slightly in front of his eyes.

"Ah, of course." Sage said, a light smirk of her own on her face.

"Don't believe me?"

"Nah, just I've known some pretty kick ass surfers so my standards for how to surf correctly are pretty high."

"And can you meet these standards?" He questioned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Kairi and Namine looked at each other, small grins on their faces.

"I learned from the best, so yeah, I'm pretty sure I can." She replied.

"Alright then. But I won't believe it until I see it." Sage grinned.

"That a challenge?"

"Of course."

XXXXXX

It was easily past seven o'clock that night. The wind had died down some and the waves had ceased their formation a couple of hours ago. The sky was still cloudy but it was obvious the moon was attempting to shine through behind it's captors. After Riku had 'challenged' Sage, it didn't take long for an all out battle of the boards to come up. A swimsuit shop had been located nearby and it only took her a few minutes to buy a suit and borrow a board from one of the group members.

The next couple hours consisted of nothing but water and challenges. While Kairi and Namine just watched, Sora and Roxas would go between surfing separate waves or watching from their floating boards as well. What they were watching- Sage and Riku continuously show each other up with their skills on the board. Riku, having been the best of the group, held his own pretty well, and wasn't that surprised when Sage brought the challenge she promised she would.

While Sage considered herself nowhere near as good as Tyler, her friend and surfing teacher, Riku and her were neck to neck when it came to skill, and put on an obvious show for the people who watched from the sidelines.

After the few hours had passed the waves had died down and everyone started to retreat back to the beach. Kairi and Namine had suggested they go get something to eat, and happened to go to the place that Sora had told her about her first day there. This led to their current time. It was seven at night and the group sat in one of the booths of Clear Waters. Sage had to admit, the place lived up to Sora's praises. While she hadn't been extremely talkative, the was slowly growing used to the group. A small smirk came across her face, there was no way Denise could be mad at her now.

Sora and Roxas were talking about a movie that had just recently come out, something along the lines of action and suspense. "It's called Shutter Island, anyone seen it?" Roxas asked.

"Went last week before I moved here." Sage commented with a shrug. "I've seen better."

"Speaking of movies." Kairi said. "Do you have any favorites Sage?"

The girl laughed lightly. "Yeah. I'm more into horror and action. Resident Evil series, Van Helsing, Silent Hill-"

"I've seen that one!" Sora exclaimed. "The one with the twisted monsters and all that. That movie was intense!"

"Actually, not really, then again, I've seen it so many times it doesn't really make a difference to me. But I also like some of the easy going ones. Ever seen Hoodwinked?" Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. Sage showed her first intense emotion, surprise. "You've got to be kidding me." She said. "Seriously?"

"What's it like?" Riku asked.

"Basically a funny cartoon. Brings together a bunch of basic fairy tail stories and makes one hilarious plot line." Sage shook her head. "I own it, we can watch it some time." They all agreed and continued on with their movie talk before Sage's cellphone rang. She flipped it open and read the words on the miniature screen, her face turning blank.

"Gotta go." She said, quickly standing up and grabbing the jacket draped over her chair.

"Is everything ok?" Namine asked. But Sage ignored her as she threw her jacket on and walked out the door, the glass piece slamming shut when she let go.

The group was quiet for a moment as they took in her sudden departure.

"She opened up some." Roxas commented.

"But apparently not enough." Kairi said with a sad sigh.

XXXXXX

Sage stood in front of her home, the sidewalk underneath her feet as she scanned the surroundings intently. When she saw that no one was in immediate view she carefully made her way up to the door, reaching down into a collection of pots that held various plants and came up with a simple 9mm gun. The outside of her house had a small but nice yard. The grass was a lush green and soft beneath the touch, with a tree planted in the center, large and full of life, providing excellent shade for the surrounding area. A border made out of simple Agave plants with small bushes or flowers in between them. A sidewalk cut through the center of the lawn and led up to the small porch step that had a collection of pots on the right side of the door and nothing on the other. While the landscape was simple, it was still something she was pleased with once her work was finished.

The reason she was currently standing outside her home with a gun was that the text message she had gotten was actually her alarm system, indicating someone had attempted to break in. After a few years of experimenting she had finally made a security system including various types that had worked for her.

Sliding the clip into the gun, she cocked it and reached into her pocket, pulling out her house key. In a second the door silently opened inward, revealing the dark home. Sage brought the gun up and stepped inside, her eyes sweeping her surroundings. Quickly adjusting to the dark, her sight studied everything, looking for something that was out of place. When she saw none she slowly closed the door and made her way through the house. It only took a couple of minutes to confirm that it hadn't been broken into before she lowered the gun, a small frown on her face. About to turn around she heard a dull 'thunk' outside and spun around, her gun raised again and aimed at the window in her bedroom. Walking over she glanced outside before pushing open the window and lithely jumping through it, landing in a crouched position with her gun scanning the surroundings.

Only once she was done with this did she look down at the knife imbedded into the ground. Knowing it was safe, she lowered her gun and picked the knife out of the ground, twirling the blade in her hands. It was relatively small, but the meaning was clear, the crimson red blade helped clarify that.

They had found her, and they were out for blood.


	5. Dances & DJ's

_Ring around the rosies  
__Pocket full of posies  
__Ashes, ashes, we all fall down_

_Nursery rhymes are said, verses in my head  
__Into my childhood they're spoon fed  
__Hidden violence revealed, darkness that seems real  
__Look at the pages that cause all this evil_

_One, two, buckle my shoe  
__Three, four, shut the door  
__Five, six, pick up sticks  
__Seven, eight, lay them straight_

Korn's twisted song of Shoots and Ladders played through her iPod as she made her way into the school. It was obvious something large was happening, seeing as everyone was going through cycles of non-stop talking. Frowning slightly as Sage dodged people who were to absorbed in their conversations to notice their surroundings, she made her way to her locker to drop some books off. Once she reached the part of the metal wall that housed her belongings she opened it up and started to switch out the books that she would need for her class.

"Hey Sage." Rolling her eyes slightly, she took out her earphones and looked to her left to see some random guy there. Dressed in the regular school uniform, it was obvious he worked out and loved to show of the results as his shirt was slightly to tight and clung to his body. He had short military cut brown hair and a firm jawline with a mouth currently set in a seductive smirk. She immediately recognized him, having seen him hang out with a group of guys at the end of school each day last week. She was also reminded how she had wanted to wipe that confident look on his face when he looked at her every time.

"I know you?" She inquired in a monotone, going back to shoving some books in her backpack.

"Probably. I'm Michael, you know, one of the coolest guys here?" He was looking at her like it was basic information.

"Ah, that probably explains why I don't." She replied, closing her locker and throwing her backpack over her side. She started walking to her class and broke out her iPod to continue to scroll through all the music. Michael was determined however and jogged over to drop into a walk next to her. "So you hear what's happening this weekend?" Sage noticed how all the girls were obviously drooling over him, and she was receiving some glares along with questioning looks.

"Nope."

"The school is throwing a 'beginning of the year' dance. Everyone is pretty stoked about it." When she didn't say anything he went on. "So everyone is already getting dates and I wanted to-"

"No. Hell no." She said, now turning to look at them. "I'm going to tell you right now that to ask me would be a waste of time. Why don't you go ask one of the girls," She gestured vaguely with her hand around them," in the school that would obviously kill to go with you."

He had that confident smirk again. "Well I figured I'd ask one of the prettiest to go." He said it as if he expected her to be flattered, but her irritation only picked up. What caused her to go over the edge however, was when he draped his arm over her shoulders.

Michael cried out as he was suddenly slammed into the wall, his arm twisted painfully behind him and his head being held down firmly by Sage's other hand. Everyone in the school turned to look at them in surprise and for the first time that day silence ensued.

Sage leaned over to where her mouth was next to his ear. "Never, touch me again. If it happens again, next time I won't let you keep your arm." And with that her grip on him suddenly disappeared and she continued to walk to her class, hearing the cursing behind her before she put her ear buds back in.

XXXXXX

"You know, they're saying he tried to kiss you." Sage looked up from her salad as she sat in the school cafeteria. Riku, Roxas, and Namine were there as they sat down at the table, and she could see Kairi and Sora in line to get their food. Roxas was the one who had spoken.

"No, he just touched me." She replied, taking a bight of her salad and scrolling through her music that her computer contained as it rested next to her tray.

"Like?" Namine asked.

"Decided that after saying how beautiful I was he would put his arm over my shoulders." She heard Namine giggle and smirked, shaking her head. "I don't like players, and I don't like dating, so hopefully he catches on pretty quickly."

"Hey Sage." Kairi greeted as she walked over to them, sliding Namine's tray in front of her. "How are you today?"

She just shrugged, looking indifferent. "Alright, and yourself?"

"Great. Namine and I joined the dance committee so we're going to be helping set everything up for the big weekend."

"Make sure you include good food." Sora said, giving Roxas and Riku their trays. "Hey Sage." She nodded her hello as he sat down as well, taking a large bite of his hamburger.

"So are you going to go?" Namine asked Sage. "To the dance I mean."

"Probably not, I'm not really into those." She said, but was immediately met with complaints.

"Come on!" Roxas said. "You can go with Riku, seeing as he refuses to go to them as well." Sage and Riku glanced at each other, then busted up laughing.

"I don't think so." Sage said, containing her laughter.

"How about we refuse to go as a pair." He said, smirking. "That way everyone is happy." Sage grinned and nodded, going back to look through her music.

"You guys are no fun." Kairi said, pouting slightly. But this didn't seem to bother them as they continued through their lunch. Sage seemed to be immersed in her work and let everyone talk on.

"-we're also going to be asking students to audition to be the DJ." Kairi was saying. Sage started listening in on their conversation, but didn't make any other move.

"How are you going to do that?" Roxas asked.

"Their going to submit CD's that we'll listen to and when we find the one we like, that person will DJ for the dance." Namine said with a smile. They seemed excited about the things people might submit.

"And we're considering having a DJ showdown. So whoever comes in second place will be able to co-DJ with the winner some time in the middle of the dance." Both girls were ecstatic, that much was for sure.

When the school bell rang everyone proceeded to their next class. This happened to be magic and potions for Sage. Only a few selected got this class since not everyone was able to cast spells. There were two separate classes for the course. One was for those who harvested the power of light, and the other was for those who used darkness. It didn't come much of a surprise to Sage and her friends that she was pretty powerful in the field of darkness. After practicing on her own for a bit she had quickly accepted the idea of getting into a class to learn from someone who knew what they were doing.

Professor Ansem seemed to have a lot of knowledge on the source of where ones darkness could come from, the heart. The first week Sage had found herself taking more notes that normal since he had explained things that she had often wondered about. While the first week had been gathering knowledge on where darkness came from, this week they were supposed to be working on ways to wield the darkness into a variety of uses.

The class wasn't that full, maybe fifteen to seventeen students. This was normal, seeing as magic wasn't the most common gift a person could have. The rooms windows had the curtains drawn and brought a more foreboding look along with the lights being drastically dimmed. Professor Ansem was behind his desk waiting for the time for class to begin as Sage took her seat near the back, letting her bag rest at her feet while she waited, not bothering to break out her iPod.

A minute later Riku took a seat next to her, silently greeting her as class was about to begin. "Afternoon class." Ansem greeted. "Today, as you know, we are going to begin the process of learning how to use darkness. We are only going to be working on one exercise today. Sight. Wielders of darkness are able to use their abilities to see with exceptionally clear sight in complete blackness. This can be beneficial and crucial if one finds themselves in a position where no light is going to be available. Now this is what I want you to do." He explained calmly. "Focus. First you are going to gather the darkness within you, but make sure you have a firm grip on it. Once you have complete control over it, you are going to then direct that flow to your eyesight. It may take a couple times, but it's easy once you get it. Now you will notice a piece of paper and pencil on your desks. Once you have it you will work with another student, and alternate as one makes a number with their fingers, and you will right it down. When we are done you will confirm your results." Riku and Sage glanced at each other as Professor Ansem walked over to the light switch. "Begin." The room was enveloped in complete darkness.

Sage couldn't even see her hand a few inches away from her face, so she was guessing a spell was involved as well to enhance the dark. Taking a breath she closed her eyes and focused. When she first found out about her ability to harvest darkness the first thing she had done was learn how to control it, refusing to allow it to become to powerful and overcome her. It gathered quickly, then she worked on 'channeling' it to her eyesight.

It took a few minutes. But when she finally opened her eyes her fourth time she almost jumped as the place suddenly flooded with detail. She was surprised, it looked even clearer that it had before class had even began. Sage glanced around and saw Riku writing on his paper. She followed his example and wrote down a variety of numbers on her page. After a minute he tapped on her shoulder. She glanced over and saw him holding up seven fingers. Writing the number under a separate column, she then held up four. Once he had his answer written down they continued to alternate with the procedure until a good ten minutes had passed.

"Alright." The light flooded back into the room and Sage grimaced, quickly cutting off the darkness as her eyesight became regular again. Riku also had an annoyed look on her face while the rest of the class cried out in protest. "Write your names on your papers and the name of your partner and hand them in." The sound of papers shuffling could be heard and minutes later Ansem was neatly stacking the papers in order on his desk. "Now let's continue."

The rest of the class continued with information on the origins and the workings on the heart. When the bell rang the students were a slightly more sluggish getting up, using the darkness had taken most of their energy out of them.

Riku and Sage weren't as affected, and she noted this, assuming he was accustomed to its presence. "The rest of us are heading over to Sora's for a barbeque after school. Want to come?" Riku offered, walking out of the room with her.

"Thanks, but maybe another time. I have some errands I gotta run. My place is about deserted of food." Riku smirked and nodded.

"Alright, another time. See you later."

"Later Riku." They both turned down separate hallways and Sage glanced over at the bulletin board that contained various announcements. A bright yellow paper caught her gaze as the words 'School DJ' were streamed across it. A brief second passed before the paper was ripped from the wall and Sage folded it and before shoving it into her backpack and continuing to her next class.


	6. Nightmares or Memories

_You think that I'm the one to blame  
__Everything I lose is just a piece of what there is  
__To gain  
__You think it's cool and all is fine  
__Now is the day when you pay, this is my time  
__I feel for you nothing but pain  
__I am what you will be, you are dying in me  
__I love you, I hate you, I miss you_

_You're always thinking you're so perfect  
__Those thoughts drove me away from home  
__But if you put me through your tests  
__Then I will fade_

_I have nothing to say  
__But I feel like my mouth is wide open  
__Everything that is real  
__Comes around  
__Comes around_

The next day after school Sage found herself at work in the music shop, putting up CD's on the shelves as some Sublime played over the stereo. The store was actually located at the mall on Destiny Islands, so outside the shop doors crowds of people were making their way in and out of the multiple stores. The shop wasn't large, the two main walls were covered with merchandise for various artists and bands while throughout the room there were stands organized by genre then alphabetical order for the CD's. The cash register was in the back behind a counter, just about finishing up the store.

Sage continued to put up some music from Jessica Simpson before turning to look over her shoulder as the sound of the bell signaled the entrance of someone. A man that seemed to be a senior in school, dressed in loose baggy jeans and a casual red t-shirt. His blond hair messily splayed across his face as he looked around, first in confusion, then uncertainly made his way to the Pop and R&B section. She smirked slightly, before turning back to the music in front of her.

It only took a few minutes for her to hear him muttering worried curses under his breath, and she glanced over to see him looking at various girl artists. Finally putting up the last of the CD's up, she brushed her hair out of her face and came over. "Can I help you find something?" She asked casually. But apparently she caught him off guard as he slightly jumped, his head snapping in her direction before a sheepish grin came across his face.

"Um yeah. See, my girlfriend's birthday is coming up..." He gestured helplessly at the music in front of him. "I'm more of a metal guy so I'm not sure what I should be looking for."

"She request anything specific?" Sage inquired.

"She said anything with Pop would be fine, but I don't know who's good or who sucks."

"Ok, that's a start. How about, does she have a specific, let's say idea, about what kind of lyrics she listens to?" When he gave her a confused look she elaborated. "Does she like songs that talk about love, breaking up, having parties, that kind of thing."

"She listens to a lot of Britney Spears, does that help?" He offered.

"Good enough." Sage looked through the music briefly and pulled off a Katy Perry and a Lady Gaga CD each and held them up to him. "Try these, they go along the lines of Spears." Obvious relief crossed his features as he looked at the covers then chose Lady Gaga.

"Thanks, can I get it now?" Sage nodded and they walked back to the counter where he quickly purchased the CD, thanked her, then practically ran out of the store, indicating her birthday was probably today or close to coming up.

Looking at the computer, she went to the play list in the store and went through until she found a song by Black Eyed Peas and had it start playing, planning on a long day ahead of her.

XXXXXX

"Guys! Look, it's the new music store." Kairi said, pointing out the loud and punked out store among the lines of others. Namine also seemed excited.

"Wonder if they carry any good music?" Sora wondered.

"Let's check it out!" Namine replied, grabbing the boys arms and dragging them to the store. As soon as they went through the door the bell rang overhead and they gaped at the sight of all the music. Kairi recognized the song of Pump It by Black Eyed Peas and grinned. "I love it already!" She yelled, running up to one of the racks. Sora and Roxas glanced at each other before splitting up. Namine already knew a CD she wanted and walked towards the back where she saw someone working. "Excuse me?" She asked.

When the person turned around Namine smiled. Sage gave a small smile and dipped her head. "Hello Namine. Need help finding something?"

"Hi Sage. There's this band, and I'm having a hard time finding them anywhere. They're the Vitamin String-"

"Quartet. Yes, we have them, one of my favorites to when it comes to dedications. Specific band?"

"Evanescence." Namine replied sheepishly.

"So our little Namine has a dark side?" Sage joked slightly, stepping from around the counter and walking to one of the shelves. She only browsed for a few seconds before she pulled a CD off the shelf. "Here." She said, handing it over. "That's the right one?"

Namine smiled and nodded. "Yes, thank you. If you're not busy can I get it now?"

"No problem. I've got an employee discount you can use." Sage offered, taking the CD and scanning it out before scanning a card she pulled from her pocket. "Anything else?" When Namine declined Sage finished the purchased and handed the CD over just as the others were walking towards them.

"Heya Sage!" Roxas said. "What are you doing here?" Namine and Kairi rolled their eyes at the same time while Sage smirked and held up the keys to the place. "I work here." She replied.

Sora busted up laughing while Roxas chuckled nervously. "So how much longer do you have?" Kairi asked.

Sage shrugged and glanced at the clock on the computer. "About ten minutes before I close the place down, it's pushing seven."

"Alright, would you like to come over to Kairi and Namine's place with us? We're going to grab a late dinner and watch a movie."

Sage was about to saw something when her phone started ringing. "Hang on." She said, flipping it open once she saw the ID. "Hello?"

Sage turned away and left the four to their conversation while she spoke to her boss.

"Sage. Unfortunately Kevin can't make it and I was hoping that since you are already there you would be able to close?"

"So stay the extra three hours." Sage said bluntly.

Her boss seemed slightly uncomfortable. "Yes, that would mean staying the next three hours."

"I'm expecting to get payed." She replied, grabbing her stuff so that way she could run to the food court for a quick minute.

"Yes, of course. So you'll do it?"

"Yeah. Bye sir." She didn't wait for a reply as she shut her phone, actually feeling disappointed. "Sorry guys." She said, turning back to the group. "Change of plans, gotta work a late shift."

"Aw, no way!" Sora said.

"Sorry guys." Kairi caught the annoyance in Sage's voice, but somehow knew it wasn't directed at Sora. "Maybe another time?"

"Definitely." Kairi said. "Need any help while we're here?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school." They said their goodbyes and departed, leaving Sage silently cursing the lowlife Kevin.

XXXXXX

"_Mommy?" Sage, age five, walked out of her worn down room and into a foul smelling hallway. Her black hair was long, falling almost to her small waist, and she had on an old set of clothes that were cheap and to large for her small body. In her arms she clung to a small stuffed dog, worn down from consistently being in her grip, but providing the small sense of innocence that Sage had still had back then._

_The house was dark, and outside it was raining in a terrible storm. She had heard yelling, just like it had been for the past few weeks. She didn't know why they suddenly started, but since they have she was able to comprehend that abrupt silence wasn't good. "Daddy?" She called out, her frail voice cracking some. Her pair of feet felt the hard carpet underneath them, but when it started to get squishy she paused, her toes curling to dig into it briefly. She looked down briefly and was about to bend down to touch it when she heard something in the living room._

_Immediately recognizing her father, she quickly forgot about the carpet and ran to the living room, her small feet scurrying their way to the large form near the hallway entrance. "Daddy?" She asked. "Why are you crying?" Indeed, the larger man was. _

_Even though it was dark out she could still see his raven black hair as it shone slightly with the minimal light in the room. The man was large, and muscular thanks to his job as a construction worker. His large hands had more than once been the ones to tuck her small body in when she went to bed at night as she grew up, but there had been less and less of that lately._

"_Daddy?" She reached out a hand and tugged on his jeans. "Is everything OK?" _

_He sniffed and just continued to look in front of him, until she followed his gaze. Her small body froze in shock as she stared at the body of her mother in front of her. Her unique white hair, not due to old age, was splayed on the floor as the woman's petite body was displayed on the floor, her skin pale as it was against the hardwood. "Momma?" She slowly reached down and brushed the hair aside. _

_Sage screamed as empty gray eyes stared back, quickly letting her hand come back to the stuffed animal she clutched even tighter to her chest as she stumbled back. "Mommy!"_

"_It's because of you!" She yelped as something slammed into her head. _

_She stumbled forward and turned behind her, gently holding the back of her head as she looked at her father who's hand fell back to his side. "W-What?"_

"_It's because of you she's dead!" He roared, and Sage let a whimper come out of her. "It's because of __you__ that we even started fighting."_

"_But, I didn't do anything!" She cried, tears slipping down her face._

_He let out a laugh, but it was cold and cruel, not like the warm ones that he would have long ago. "No, you did everything. __Everything__." She stared at him in fear as his eyes fell back to his cold wife. "Everything." He whispered._

_Sage sobbed as she ran past him and into her room, quickly shutting the door behind her. What she didn't see on her escape was the bloodied knife on the floor next to her father's foot, or the deep cut in her mother's stomach from the said knife._

XXXXXX

Sage woke up gasping for breath, her form shooting up straight in bed as she wildly looked around, searching for the beer bottle that her mind was bound to be thrown any minute. When instead her eyes landed on the bright neon clock saying that it was two in the morning. She brought her arm up and wiped the sweat from her forehead, noticing that she was shaking. Sage was surprised that after years of not having nightmares that she would have one now, and she also recalled what she did every time she had one.

But glancing at the clock, she actually debated, until her mother's dead gaze flashed through her mind again and she ripped her cellphone off the ground and quickly dialed the number she needed. She leaned against the wall next to her bed and let her head fall back against the cold as she brought her knees up and draped one arm across her knees_, _holding the cellphone to her ear.

It didn't surprise her that it took the seventh ring before a sleepy voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Tyler." Sage said with a small grin, her voice soft so that way she wouldn't make him jump.

But apparently her call immediately alerted him. "Sage!" He yelled, making her wince and softly laugh. "Hey! Holy cow, you didn't pull an all nighter again, right?" He asked.

"Nah, I actually just woke up."

Back in Traverse Town Tyler looked at the clock and frowned, immediately worried. "What happened?"

"This time it was when he killed my mom." She whispered.

Tyler bit back a curse, silently loathing Sage's father. It was a few years after he met her that he got the first call. She was crying because she couldn't stop thinking about her parents. Over the years he would become her outlet for the dreams, and promised to never tell the others.

"It's been a while." He said with a sigh.

"I know, what I don't know is why they suddenly decided to show up again." she frowned slightly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you."

"No, no, no." He quickly disagreed. "It's totally fine. Besides, I haven't been graced with a call from you in a while." He joked. He heard her laugh on the other side.

"I'm sorry. Work has been crazy and school is starting to pick up."

"And what else?" He prodded, knowing by now she would have picked up something else.

"I decided to audition to DJ for the dance the school is having." She offered, and this seemed to satisfy him.

"Whoa! See, I knew you'd do something dance related some time!" This earned him another laugh, letting him know two things. One, she was forgetting the dream. And two, she was beyond tired, because she never laughed this much in a short amount of time.

Their conversation continued for another hour before Sage felt a yawn escape her. "Maybe you should go to bed." Tyler offered with a laugh.

Sage chuckled. "Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks Tyler, I appreciate it."

"No problem. Make sure you call me again when it isn't an early morning."

"Got it." He said goodnight and she hung up, immediately feeling her lids start to close. She didn't bother climbing under the covers as she just dropped on her side and wrapped her arms around her pillow, her head loving the soft feel of it and prompted her even farther into sleep. So that's what she did, and instead of nightmares that she was sad to call memories, she recalled happier ones. Her friends that she called family, hanging out at competitions they went to, the park, their movie nights they had almost as if they were rituals.

As her mind slowly sorted through these calming thoughts, they started to become more recent, until she was completely asleep thinking about the surfing competition between her and Riku followed up with the dinner with the ones she was starting to acknowledge as friends.


	7. Plans

_Who made up all the rules  
__We follow them like fools  
__Believe them to be true  
__Don't care to think them through_

_I'm sorry so sorry  
__I'm sorry it's like this  
__I'm sorry so sorry  
__I'm sorry we do this_

_And it's ironic too  
__Coz what we tend to do  
__Is act on what they say  
__And then it is that way_

_I'm sorry so sorry  
__I'm sorry it's like this  
__I'm sorry so sorry  
__I'm sorry we do this_

Sage bit back a yawn as she walked onto the school grounds, her backpack slung over one shoulder and hair neatly falling around her shoulders. She was tired, but not as bad as what she normally put up with after nightmares. Mentally, she was going through a list of things she had to get done, then she remembered the CD in her backpack along with the information form that would allow the school to contact her if she made it as the DJ. She seriously thought about not doing it, but she had already told Tyler, and knew he would want a new mix CD so she might as well.

Something slammed into her back and she immediately went on the defensive, her body moving on it's own accord. She spun to the right, feeling the body behind her fall past her before she was behind them and pinned their body to the ground, her foot on their back.

"Uh, hi?" Sora almost asked, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry about that."

"Crap. Sorry Sora." she took her foot off his back and held out a hand. "Reflexes." He laughed and took her hand so she could help him back into a standing position. To her surprise, he seemed somewhat more mellow today. "What's up?"

"Roxas and I were up till two finishing a video game." He replied with a yawn. "So we're kinda out of it." It was at that moment that Roxas decided to sluggishly walk by, his eyes barely staying open. "Hey Roxas." Sora said, covering his mouth as a yawn escaped him.

"Eh." He said, continuing his journey to the seemingly far off entrance.

"Oh yeah." Sora said, walking with Sage up the school. "Kairi and Namine told me to ask if you could make it to the barbeque at Riku's house, it's his turn."

"His turn for what?" She asked.

"To host one where he has to feed everyone. We'll switch out so last time it was Kairi and Namine, they live together, the time before that it was Roxas and me, so now it's his turn." He grinned. "And we're lucky, his dad can grill the best stakes. And he has a pretty big pool so water fights are easy to have."

Sage raised an eyebrow what said nothing on that subject. "When is it?"

"Tonight."

Sage thought for a moment before nodding, surprising Sora. "Sure, I'll be there."

"Awesome! One of us can drop by your house-"

"It's alright." She quickly said. "Just give me an address and I'll be there." Confusion was on his face for a moment before he nodded and scribbled down Riku's address on a piece of paper. "Here ya go. Be there around five?"

"Sounds good." She said. "I gotta drop something off, I'll talk to you later." Sage started walking down a separate hallway as Sora waved goodbye to his own classes.

XXXXXX

"Guys!" Kairi yelled, running towards the trio. Riku, Sora and Roxas looked up at the ecstatic look on her face and then Namine's smiling one as they quickly made their way to the group who were currently sitting under their tree.

"What's up guys?" Sora asked, just then noticing the small boombox in Namine's hand.

"You have got to hear these two CD's." Kairi said, sitting down in the shade with them. "They're the two DJ's that we've decided will both participate in the dance, but we can't pick one to be the main producer." There were two CD's in her hands, and she opened up the case of one to put it in the music player Namine set on the grass.

"We're having trouble picking, so you get to help." She said with a small smile and hit the play button. As the music started to pick up she opened up a sheet of paper that was in the CD case. "This person is using the name DJ Waves, we asked them to tell us how they would introduce themselves if they got the part, and he's a Junior here. His mix consists more of the popular pop artists for the past three years, so a lot of his songs are recognizable. ." And they were. Kairi and Namine recognized most of the songs, while the guys could remember a few of them. They had to admit, they blended pretty well and made for an upbeat mix. The limit for the audition CD's was ten minutes, so once the CD ended Kairi switched it out for the second one.

"This one is really cool too. DJ Shadow is her name and she is a Sophomore here. You guys will really like this one."

"Why's that?" Riku asked, leaning casually against a tree as he took the paper from her and he read the song names. "But, there are some harder rock songs here."

"Exactly." Namine said with a grin. The music started playing, and all three gawked, recognizing Avenged Sevenfold, however, it had a more dance approach to it in the remix. "She literally remixed them to blend into a great dance CD."

The music made clear and clean transactions and is switched from music with Rock to that more of R&B before moving onto a techno variety. Looking around Roxas noted how the people within hearing range of the music were enjoying it, either bobbing their heads or somewhat singing along to the songs that were mixed.

When the CD ended silence fell back into the yard. Kairi and Namine looked expectantly at them. "Well, who should be the main DJ?"

"DJ Shadow." Roxas said. "Everyone seemed to like her music. DJ Waves would be pretty cool to see co-mix with her."

"I'm with Roxas." Sora agreed. "Riku?"

The silver-haired teen just shrugged. "Sounds good to me, Kairi talked me into playing chef for the dance so I at least want to listen to good music while I cook."

Everyone laughed at this when they heard running coming towards them and turned to see Sage quickly making her way to the parking lot. "Hi Sage!" Kairi waved.

Sage spun around and nodded. "Hey Kairi." Sage took her keys out of her backpack and proceeded to toss the bag to Riku, who caught it unexpectedly. "Hold onto that for me, I gotta pick up my blades before gym." With that, she turned and picked up the run again towards her awaiting motorcycle.

Everyone looked in confusion after her before Namine suddenly registered what she had said. "That's right! She left her daggers with Axel to sharpen for her again."

Sora looked briefly to see if she was gone before he took the backpack from Riku. "So, I wonder what she has in here?" He wondered.

"Sora!" Kairi said. "Don't look through her stuff!"

"Why not-" Just then they heard some soft music coming from the black bag and they paused for a minute. Roxas reached over and unzipped one of the smaller pouches before pulling out the black cellphone and therefore making the music clearer.

"Bleed it Out." Riku commented, and when they looked at him he finished with, "It's the song playing."

"Who is it?" Sora asked, looking at the ID.

"Elite Psycho?" Roxas said.

"Yeah right." Kairi said. "Seriously, who is it?"

"That's what it says!" Sora cried, taking the cellphone from Roxas and holding it up to her. "See?"

"Why would she nickname them that?" The music kept on playing and they briefly wondered what to do. Sora suddenly found the phone out of his grip and in Namine's slim hands. "No!"

"Hello." Namine greeted politely, holding the cellphone next to her ear.

"Who's this?" Denise paused in her rollerblading and focused on the person who had answered Sage's phone.

"I'm Namine. Sage left her bag with us and she accidentally left her cellphone." She explained politely.

"Oh! So you guys got that far already?" She sounded excited and Namine was confused. She pressed a button and put the phone on speaker, causing everyone to be dead silent.

"I'm sorry?" Namine asked.

"It takes a while for Sage to just leave her stuff with people. You haven't gone through her backpack, have you?" Denise asked.

Kairi glared at Sora who shrugged. "No, the backpack has been untouched. Unless you count answering the phone."

"Nah, you should be good. I remember one time Tyler went through her backpack, poor guy, took a couple weeks for his arm to heal properly." But Denise laughed as she said this. "So you know when Sage will be back?"

"Before next class, which is in twenty minutes." Namine replied. "Um, quick question. Who are you and why are you under 'Elite Psycho'?"

At this Denise laughed harder. "My name's Denise. I've known Sage for, geez, since she was four-ish? And the ID is because that's her personal nickname for me."

"Ah, ok."

"So tell me, are you in the group of people attempting to be her friends?" Denise asked casually, picking up her rollerblading again.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. There's me, Kairi, Sora, Roxas, and Riku."

"Right, she told me about you guys. I gotta say, you're doing a better job than what we expected."

"How so?"

"It takes Sage a while to even let people know the more simpler things about her. You know where she lives yet?"

"Actually, no." Sora piped up. "I offered to pick her up at her house to take to Riku's but she didn't want to."

"Then yeah, you guys still have a bit of ways to go. Sage is a person where you have to work your way up the ranks and then she'll give you information piece by piece. It takes a while, but she's a great person when you get past the barriers. Just don't screw it up, alright?"

"Ok, thank you for the information Denise." Kairi said.

"No problem. Now I suggest you put the phone back and don't let her know I called. She has a habit of suddenly showing up."

"Yeah, I do." The group froze and looked up to see Sage smirking down at them, the sheaths containing her daggers in her hands. "'Sup Denise." She said, grabbing her backpack from Sora and putting her belongings in.

"Heya Sage." She chirped. Namine looked flush as she nervously held out the cellphone to Sage.

Ok, Sage hadn't been expecting them to be on her phone, but after seeing the slightly panicked look on Namine's normally kind features she decided to let it pass. Besides, it was Denise, she was probably drilling them with questions on how their 'progress' was with her.

Sage took the phone and took it off speaker. "So what's up?"

"We need help. Jason's birthday is coming up and we can't get him to take a break from work for it. You always had better luck with him, so can you convince him?"

Sage frowned. "Why won't he take a break?"

"He's using the excuse of 'there's work to get done.' But Tyler and I think it's because of his sister. She wants to go on a school camping trip but they need money for it so he's been pulling overtime. He's working himself ragged Sage! He's starting to get right up there with you!" Sage rolled her eyes at this.

"Alright, I'll figure something out. Listen, I gotta go, talk to you later."

"Later." Denise said before the line was cut. Sage hung up the phone and ran a hand through her hair, wondering how she was going to convince Jason. Once she decided to look around her everyone was looking at her silently, wondering what her reaction was going to be.

"Guys, breath." Simultaneously they all let out the breath they had been holding. "Relax. It was just Denise, she's been wanting to talk to you anyways." Sage glanced at the clock on her phone. "Gotta go." As she walked by she put a hand on Namine's slightly shaking shoulder before she was gone.

Namine took a small breath and smiled slightly, finding it hard to believe she was that nervous that Sage had caught her. "Wow, that went a lot better than planned." Roxas commented. Sora groaned and fell back, feeling like he had just experienced a near-death situation.

XXXXXX

Sage stood in front of Riku's home, now dressed in a pair of blue jean shorts and a black bikini top. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail along with her black shades resting in front of her eyes. Her backpack's straps were currently resting on her shoulders as she glanced back at her motorcycle in his driveway. To say in the least, his house was pretty big. The yard was a crisp clean little forest and there were two pillars resting in front of the doorway that was the end of the pathway that was lined by tropical bushes. It was a clean white and had to be at least a three bedroom home, and pretty large bedrooms at that.

She reached up and knocked a couple of times before letting her hand fall back to her side. She could hear yelling from the backyard and then running towards the door before it flew open. "Hiya Sage!" A dripping wet Sora greeted loudly.

"Dobe! Get out of the house if your wet!" She smirked as suddenly a hand grabbed a fist-full of Sora's hair and pulled him out of the doorway. Then Riku was walking to where Sora had been, shaking his head. "Hey Sage." He said, standing aside and motioning for her to come in.

"Hey Riku." She replied, ignoring the inside of his clean house as he led her to the glass doors to take them outside. His back yard was huge, with a large pool at least eight feet deep sitting in the center surrounded by pavement that had tables and chairs scattered about it. To her right there was a built in grill and grass covered anything that wasn't being used, while trees outlined the fence so it was harder to see anything on the other side. "Nice place." She commented.

"Thanks. My Dad likes things big, kinda gets annoying after a while." They both smirked and Sage saw Kairi and Namine coming towards them. Sora and Roxas were in the pool, currently just swimming around, and she could tell something was cooking on the barbeque. "Hi Sage." Namine greeted. "Just in time, Sora and Roxas want to start the water wars soon." She raised an eyebrow at this.

"What?" That's when she heard Riku curse, and the girls screamed. She glanced up and was met with at least a solid twenty foot wall of water looming over them. "Crap." She muttered before it came crashing down.

Sora and Roxas were currently sitting on the edges of the now empty pool laughing their hearts out, clutching their sides as they attempted to catch their breaths. After the water cleared they could see Kairi and Namine standing there, soaking wet, and glaring at them. Riku had made it in time to create a wall that protected the barbeque from being drenched and destroyed. "Hey." Roxas commented, still chuckling, "Where's Sage?"

Suddenly they saw the two girls grinning and start bursting into laughter while Riku was smirking at them. They glanced at each other, and that's when they saw it out of the corner of their eyes before they didn't see anything at all, solid darkness engulfing them. "Hey!" Sora yelled, struggling as his body was held perfectly still by pressure on all side. He couldn't see that Roxas was going through the same thing.

Everyone watched from the outside as two dark spheres containing the two teenagers started to rise higher and higher above the pool, the water moving back into place by Riku. Once it was full their yells were now starting to get louder. Sage smirked from her position, standing behind where they had originally been.

When the spheres dropped, Sora and Roxas found light flooding back into their sight, and their protests died down just before they realized where they were. "AH!"

Their bodies made the thirty food drop before crashing into the water, sending a large wave, but not like the ones they had made with their magic, flowing over the edge. It took a few seconds before the blond and brunet resurfaced, sputtering water and being met with laughter. The girls were almost crying while Sage was grinning, a few chuckles coming from her still dry form. "H-how?" Roxas choked out.

She raised a hand enveloped in the depressing shadow's of darkness, and both boys frowned. "Cheater!"

"No, common sense."


	8. The Fight that Started the Chase

**Hello Everyone.  
So, this is actually getting read. Just wanted to say thanks to those of you who are reviewing it, I'm glad to hear it's amusing some of you. So just to let you know I write modern day action stories, and this is the first chapter I introduce fighting, and probably start to expect some more of it. Thanks for reading, I'll keep trying to stay consistent with posts. **

_Tell me what I want to say  
__Save me for another day  
__Break me, it's the game you play  
__Hate me as I turn away__A boyish notion of false emotion  
__These words are spoken despite my love  
__A fool's devotion was set in motion  
__My eyes are open now_

_It's a glass cage so I can't pretend  
__You hide beneath the physical  
__I see it coming  
__But I can't defend  
__You cut so deep  
__My belief is gone  
__My belief is gone  
__My belief is..._

Darkness had settled across Traverse Town, the normally bright land now taking on an illuminating look as the last of its residents retired for the night. It was probably nearing eleven that night, but there were still those who were up and doing miscellaneous things.

Throughout the various streets and alleyways a person on a motorcycle made their way quickly through the sleeping areas, seeming to know what they were doing. For the past few hours they had been sitting on the machine, the wind whipping past them as they worked to get to their destination at least before midnight. The black and silver flashed past as its rider continued on, all fatigue shaking away once their destination came into view.

The only indication the garage still housed someone was the faint light that shown through one of the multiple windows the building had. The motorcycle came to a stop in front of the large metal doors that if slid open, would reveal a variety of cars that would get worked on in the morning.

Sage took the helmet off her head and ran a hand through her hair, a faint smile on her lips. She had dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans along with a solid black, long sleeved shirt. The only other thing on her was the long silver chain that fell behind her shirt, hiding the dragon tag at the end of it. Getting off the bike, she put the helmet down and walked to the side entrance, a set of keys in her hand as she slid them into the lock. As the mechanism slid away, she silently opened the door and stepped in, relishing the site of the place before her.

The place was one of the largest and most popular garages in town. People periodically were bringing things from cars and motorcycles to boats and jet skies that would be used at the lake that was about an hours drive from town. The solid cement floor was smooth as multiple machines rested on it and the walls were lined with shelves, cabinets, and counter top space that held the variety of tools that were used for each specific ride. Across from her their was another door that led to the office and to the right of the door there were a variety of clipboards hanging on the wall with specific models, the problem, and how it was to be taken care of along with the date it should be done.

Finally, what really customized the area were the insanely large speakers in the corners of the room, which weren't blasting music as they did, but were currently playing music softer so that way it gently filled the room. Sage clearly remembered the day when her and Jason had installed those, the day before opening the garage. It had taken hours on end but once it was done they were more than pleased with the results.

At the end of the rows of cars in one section there was a truck that was slightly raised, and she could see a large pair of boots the only part of the body that wasn't obscured. A pair of stained and ripped up jeans followed up underneath the car as she silently made her way over, frowning slightly as she heard one of Korn's more disturbing songs play through the speakers.

While she was a music junkie herself, she allowed music to relay her emotions, and normally people didn't consider this at all, so it was an easy outlet. She knew Jason would use this as well, and the song 'Coming Undone' currently gave her an overall view of what he was thinking about. Sage paused next to the body underneath the car and bent down slightly to where she was in a crouching position. She placed her foot over one of the tools right next to him and saw an oil-covered hand reach out and grab it. When he pulled and it didn't come loose from the pressure on top of it that's when he appeared.

Jason's bright lime green eyes widened in shock as he looked up at her, a small smile on her face. His blond hair was disheveled and his clothes were pretty worn out. She could tell he hadn't been snowboarding in a while, because his eyes held that faint light that showed he was slightly annoyed not being able to participate in his one outlet. She was one of the few people that could read him so well, and whether that was a good or bad thing, neither of them had been able to decide.

"Sage?" His solid voice questioned, like he honestly didn't believe that she was right next to him.

"Yeah." She said, smiling at him. He pushed himself up and stood with her coming out of her crouch. Suddenly she was engulfed in a hug as his strong arms wrapped around her tightly. Her own arms wrapped around him as he crushed her. "What are you doing here?" He asked incredulously, his voice not showing the emotion but his facial features displaying it for him.

"I heard you were being stubborn and overworked, so I thought I'd intervene."

"You just made a four hour drive tonight when you have school tomorrow." He said sternly.

"And you've been working well past midnight throughout multiple school nights." She replied just as firmly.

He sighed and shook his head. "There's just been-" Sage held up a hand and he immediately stopped. He was still a few inches taller than her so he had to look down and she gazed up slightly.

"Jason, just because I left temporarily doesn't mean that you have to overwork. You're good at managing your time and know how to get things done. Apply that skill like you always have or else you're going to end up killing yourself."

He let out a sigh, and it exposed how tired he was as he cross his arms and glanced away. "Things have just been...busy."

Sage took him by the arm and they went to a group of chairs in the garage that were used for breaks. "Fill me in." Sage said.

"Karen is turning eleven this year, and she wants to go on this camping trip her school is hosting. It costs a ton but if I can pull up enough hours then we'll have the money in time." He said it in his normal monotone of voice, something Sage had grown accustomed to over the years.

"How much?"

"Three hundred." Sage thought for a moment and he noticed the ghost of a smile on her face. "Sage-" He warned.

"Come on, I wanna show you something. She got up and walked into the office, the small room housing the computer she needed. Sitting in the worn down chair she pulled up a website and started to type in some information. Jason looked over her shoulder as she explained.

"Remember how I was consistently putting away a little bit of our paychecks each week and you never saw where they went?"

"Yeah, I thought you were stealing to try to buy a new bike." He said. Sage rolled her eyes and hit a few more keys.

"Consider it, 'in-case of emergency.'" The bank account sum came up and Jason grabbed onto the chair, his eyes widening in shock as he read the number. "That's not real." He said.

"As real as fifteen thousand can get. When your mom started having those health issues I wanted to make sure we'd have some spending money in case. But now that everything looks fine financial wise, you can look at it as playing money."

Then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, you said 'our', does that mean-"

"I wanted to help out, it wasn't like I had any financial issues at the moment." Sage watched as his blank mask came back up, and knew he was trying to sort out the situation.

"But-"

"Jason, no." He looked down when he heard her tone. She stared back defiantly. "Take it, use it. Just lay off the work, OK? You have everyone worried, and honestly, I don't like being so far away when you aren't going easy on yourself."

A faint smile came across his face. "So who called?"

"Denise, she was saying how you weren't going to take your birthday off. But now..." She trailed off and waited for him.

"Alright." He sighed, shaking his head. "But after-"

"Yeah, yeah." She said, waving a hand at him. "But seriously, find a partner, and stop taking on the business by yourself."

"I already told you, people are idiots, I'm not going to let a moron help me run a business." Sage stood and stretched, chuckling. "Yeah, but I still want to see some effort go into the search. Like I said, I'll get back as soon as I can."

"So, any signs of them?" He inquired softly.

She winced slightly. "Got the crimson blade, so they know I moved there. I'm giving them a week and a half max before they make a move."

"When do you think they'll give up?" Sage sighed and shook her head.

"As long as the dude my 'father' robbed is still breathing, I'll be having to deal with them." He pulled her into a hug and sighed. "Give us a call when they show, we'll help you out."

"We'll see." Sage replied. "I don't want anyone getting hurt again, that's the reason I moved so it would be pointless if you still came anyway."

"You should have stayed here, where we could protect you easier."

Sage smiled some and looked up at him. "I'll manage." Just then the garage clock struck midnight, and they could hear the town bell echoing throughout the city. "I gotta get going, school starts in a few hours so if I'm lucky I can catch about two hours of sleep before I leave."

"You should have just called." He chuckled, walking her to the door.

"Nah, I wanted to make sure I beat that vacation into your head. but don't tell the other two I came down, then we'd both be dead."

"True." The cool night air surrounded them as they walked to her motorcycle. Sage swung a leg over and held her helmet in her hands. "I'll try to visit soon."

He nodded. "We'll try too. Take care." The two clasped hands and she smirked.

"Of course." The helmet came over her head and obscured her face from view before kick-starting the motorcycle. The engine roared to life and she gave one more half wave before the bike made a sharp turn and shot down the pavement, heading back towards Destiny Islands.

XXXXXX

"You locate her?"

"Yes sir. She dropped by to visit one of her buddies tonight. Got a confirmed identification."

"And her current location?"

"Destiny Islands. Moved there last week. Already left the dagger, now we're just waiting for your order."

"Remember, I want her brought back alive. She needs to pay the consequences of her and her father's mistakes." A low chuckle could be heard through the dark room.

"As you wish sir. And afterwords?"

"Kill her."

XXXXXX

_She guessed there were seven of them: three in front, three behind, and the final one was stationed on the low rooftop of the building just a few yards away from them. She couldn't make out any physical features with them being clad in all black and their faces obscured by masks. But it was easy to know who they were, they wore the brand proudly. A skull with two daggers protruding from the empty sockets of its eyes and a maniac like grin on its features. _

_Hells Prosecutors. _

_Her father, the moron that had bargained with them, had made the dire mistake of taking money from them to help fuel his need for beer and gambling. He was drunk, of course, when he did the action, so it wasn't until the hangover the next day that reality dawned on him. This had been only a couple weeks before his unexplained death, and when the gang didn't have a person to hold accountable for, they moved on to the next generation, her. But unfortunately they learned that she wasn't one to own up to the deceased man's mistakes, and she had made that very clear that night. _

"_No." She said. Even at the age of ten, she had already mastered the art of hiding her emotions._

"_I'm afraid you don't have a choice kid." The man in the middle of the trio in front of her spoke on their leaders behalf. "You're going to come, whether you like it or not._

_She was still small, but to her disdain she was familiar with killing someone. But the fact that she barely knew these people helped. She was dressed in a pair of long black jeans and had some cheap shoes on with a simple red t-shirt. She was somewhat thin, and just gaining muscle at that age, but she did have two daggers at her waist, the same ones she would use later on in life, since she was just coming back from weapon's practice._

_Apparently they had talked before hand, because they started off one at a time. When nodded to from the man in the center, the one to his right stepped up, and Sage just knew he had a sick grin under that mask. When his hand reached out for her, he cried out and quickly brought it back to him, the deep cut starting at the base of his thumb and working it's way to his wrist. _

_The dagger was held in Sage's hand, and dripping with blood as she stood in a prepared pose, bringing out her second dagger._

"_Common man." One of them sneered, coming up next to him to push him away. "It's not that-" She ducked out of the way and flipped the blade over, having the metal trail up her arm as she drove it with as much force as she could must into his leg while the second one came across his upper arm. _

_Both blade disappeared as he yelled in pain and clutched his leg, Sage stepping back and looking around. Two came at her this time, from behind. One grabbed her arm from the side while the second one was across from her. Sage's leg came up and slammed into one of the weakest spots of a man located right between his legs before her free arm holding the dagger simply cut at the hand holding her and she stepped hard on his foot. _

_Four down, and three more. She could tell she was ticking the man off, because he brought out a dagger of his own. He came towards her and she jumped back, getting just a light scratch on her upper arm, before ducking as she saw the shadow behind her reach out for her. _

_Deciding she was done, she broke out of their trap to the right and started running as fast as her legs would take her, the daggers held firmly in her hands. "Shoot her!" She heard. _

_A startled yell came from her as a bullet landed next to her foot, prompting her to run faster. It wasn't until a few seconds later that she had officially lost them, leaving three still standing men surprised and angry._

"_Boss ain't gonna be happy." One said._

"_Shut up." The apparent team leader growled at him. "You think I don't know that?"_

"_Just saying." The man shrugged._

XXXXXX

Sage always set her alarm, she had been for as long as she could remember. However, normally she always beat the device to waking her up because she would normally wake up around five-thirty to six instead of seven-thirty. It was more of a 'just in case' measure.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case today.

As soon as it hit seven thirty the shrill beeping pierced the air, causing an unsuspecting Sage to jump, and unfortunately, land on the floor. A curse slipped through her lips as she opened her eyes to glare at the device, before that glare turned into a look of horror. "CRAP!" She was immediately off the floor and running, first quickly changing into the school uniform and stuffing her books into her backpack, running out of her bedroom door while trying to pull her head up.

She ignored breakfast, instead grabbing a bottle of water and proceeding out of the house, hastily locking it before running to the driveway. However, it was at that moment that she remembered that she needed gas, having left just enough to get to a station to fill it up, but not enough to get to school and then a gas station.

Another curse came from her as she turned around and started running for the school.

A good fifteen minutes later she was breathless, tired, beyond ticked off due to both lack of food and sleep, and walking up the steps of the school. She still had ten minutes until it started. Hand clenched tightly around her backpack strap, she made her way to her locker and quickly switched out books before heading for the second floor and to her first class, her eyes already fighting to stay open.

When she entered the still noisy class her teacher immediately saw something was wrong with her. "Miss Nightstalker, is everything alright?"

"Fine ma'am." Sage had decided on the first day of school that she liked her teacher, Mrs. Felsworth. The woman knew what she was talking about and expected things to get done, but she had an easygoing side as well as long as you got work done.

"You look like you're about to fall over." She commented. "I hardly register that as fine."

"I didn't sleep well last night, that's all." Sage said, sincerely hoping the woman would back off. "May I take my seat?"

After a moment of studying her, Mrs. Felsworth nodded and Sage made her way to her seat in the back, almost falling into the chair and relishing the silence before the annoying school bell decided to let out it's shrill ring.

"Alright class, pop quiz." Everyone groaned and Sage closed her eyes, a slow sigh coming from her.

_Today is going to be hell._


	9. Partying With DJ's

_Get this party started on a Saturday night  
__Everybody's waiting for me to arrive  
__Sendin' out the message to all of my friends  
__We'll be looking flashy in my Mercedes Benz  
__I got lot of style, check my gold diamond rings  
__I can go for miles if you know what I mean  
__I'm comin' up so you better get this party started  
__I'm comin' up so you better get this party started._

_Pumping up the colume, breaking down to the beat  
__Cruisin' through the west side  
__We'll be checkin' the scene  
__Boulevard is freakin' as I'm comin' up fast  
__I'll be burnin' rubber, you'll be kissin' my a**  
__Pull up to the bumper, get out of the car  
__License plate says Stunner #1 Superstar_

_I'm comin' up so you better get this party started  
__I'm comin' up so you better get this party started  
__Get this party started_

Roxas replayed the event in his head as to how he was brought into the current situation. Here he was, piece of paper with an address in one hand, while the other held the envelope letting this 'DJ Shadow' know that she was going to be doing the music for tonight's dance. He was also standing in front a very irritated looking Sage. However what currently was causing him to honestly consider running was the fact that her face held no emotion, while her eyes made him thank all types of gods out there that the phrase, 'if looks could kill' was just that, a phrase.

It started out like this.

XXXXXX

"So are you going to the dance tonight Sage?" Sora asked. Currently Sora was walking on her right and Roxas was on her left, the trio happening to be taking the same hallway to get out of the school. They already knew they were going, and Riku got to apply his cooking skills after somewhat being forced by the girls to do so, so now Sage was the only one out of their group who they didn't know about.

And to answer his question, she just shrugged. "Don't know, we'll see."

"It would be cool if you came. Riku would probably appreciate some help in the kitchens." He suggested.

She smirked. "Probably not." Students rushed past them to escape the school walls and get home to prepare for the dance. The noise was starting to really pick up and Sage could feel some irritation growing in her.

"Hey Sage, you alright?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, just tired." She replied, rubbing her eyes. "And ready to get out of this stupid skirt."

"Hey guys!" They all turned to see Kairi. "Hiya Sage, are you going to the dance tonight?"

"That seems to be the question of the day." She commented, shaking her head. "I don't know Kairi, probably."

"Oh, well hopefully you can-" They were interrupted by the ringing of Sage's cellphone.

She quietly apologized and flipped it open. "This is Sage." It only took a few seconds into the conversation where she covered the mouthpiece. "Sorry guys, I gotta bail. Talk to you later."

"Think about the dance!" Kairi yelled as she retreated. Sage raised one hand and barely waved it as she kept walking, now talking quickly into the phone.

"So Roxas, Sora, I have a favor to ask." Both boys immediately looked at each other when she said this. "Don't worry, nothing big. It's just that DJ Shadow lives somewhat near you guys and I was hoping you could take her this letter basically saying she's heading tonight's party." Kairi gave them a begging look as she held up the envelope.

"But why don't you or Namine do this!" Sora said. "Isn't it your job or something?"

"But we have to get ready for the dance tonight." Kairi replied, "And guys never take as long as girls. So please?"

"Well, I guess if it's close..." Roxas started, before the envelope and a piece of paper with the address was shoved into his hands.

"Thanks guys! Remember to be nice when you tell her." She smiled and waved before turning and heading off the school grounds, Namine waiting for her before both girls disappeared among the crowd.

Sora glared at Roxas. "Why did you say that?"

"Well it shouldn't be to bad if it's close, right?"

"Remember the list of chores we gotta get done before we can head over to the dance?" Sora said, and a horrified look came over Roxas. "Guess what, _you_ get to deliver the letter, while I get started on mine."

"But-!"

"No buts." Sora grinned. "You brought this upon yourself."

XXXXXX

So now he was back to the present day, and once again got a look at Sage while still recovering from shock. She was dressed in a pair of loose slacks and a white t-shirt, her hair cascading around her. He could hear a video game running in the background. "Um, hi." He said.

Sage, meanwhile, was working back a scowl and forced herself to at least be civil. "Hello Roxas." She said, then before he could even reply she continued on. "How did you get this address?"

He hesitantly held up a piece of paper. "School." Then held up the envelope. "DJ Shadow?"

She felt her annoyance fade, he had a good reason so she couldn't hold it against him. She took the envelope and opened it there, reading through it while he just stood staring dumbly. "Cool." She nodded, closing up the letter and looking back at him.

"So, um, grats I guess."

Shadow smirked. "Thanks." After a moment she motioned behind her. "Want a drink?"

Reality snapped back and he shook his head. "Crap! No sorry, I got ton of chores to do before the dance tonight."

"Alright, see you later then." He waved before turning around to start running for his own home, realizing just then that he now knew where Sage lived.

_Don't say anything. Don't say anything._ He kept chanting to himself, thinking of one of her daggers at his throat if he let it slip.

XXXXXX

Riku ran a hand through his silver hair, trying to remember how Kairi and Namine had talked him into doing this. Yes, he somewhat enjoyed cooking, mostly because his mom forced him to learn, but now he was expected to keep the entire school fed while they dance for hours on end. Oh yes, he was screwed.

Standing in the school kitchen he listened to one of the teachers that was saying what he would be making, his eyes roamed over the place and was pleased to see that at least it was clean and large, something to be expected. It took a good fifteen minutes for them to finish before leaving him to prepare things with the volunteers. "Did you guys hear?"

_Great._ He thought sarcastically, _g__ossip girls for helpers. _"Apparently a girl is going to DJ the dance."

"Do you know who?" Another asked.

"You'd never guess, but that really quiet and intense girl, Sage I think, is doing it!" There were gasps of surprise and Riku's head snapped up.

_Sage is the DJ?_ He thought in shock. The speakers in the kitchen started to play a mix that the live DJ was no doubt working on, the entire school wired to whatever she played so everyone could hear, even them. It made a variety of switches, no doubt the DJ was preparing for the dance that was to be held in a few hours.

"Keep preparing things and don't burn the place down." Riku told everyone as he turned and walked out of the kitchen. He lightly ran to the gymnasium where the dance was to be held and walked in through the large double doors. The large room had been completely transformed. Apparently there hadn't really been a theme, but the colors mostly consisted of a dark red, gold, and he had to say, kind of a lot of sparkle. There were tables to line the walls that would hold the food, dark red coverings over them while gold decorations hung from various places. In the far right corner and the far left corner of the gym two platforms were set up, two separate DJ platforms.

The one on the right revealed what he needed to confirm. Sage was up there, a laptop off to the right while in front of her were the turntables and various other instruments. Speakers were placed throughout the room and he could see as well as hear as she moved her hands along the controls the music alter every time. She had her long hair falling around her and was dressed in a black t-shirt with no sleeves that cut into a V neck. Along with this she was dressed in somewhat light black pants that border lined gray, with a studded black belt. Finally she had a long silver necklace with a tag at the end that hung low with a leather braided bracelet that looked to be stained red.

Riku walked over and she looked up, smirking. "Well if it isn't tonight's chef."

"And the DJ?"

"Yeah, I had nothing to do." She shrugged and he laughed.

"So are you ready for tonight? I hear it's going to be hell."

"I've survived hell twice already, I'm sure I can go for a third time." He didn't inquire any farther, and she didn't offer any information.

"Want anything to drink, being the head chef allows you a lot of advantages."

"Got Mt. Dew?" He nodded. "I'll take a large bottle of that."

"Mt. Dew, coming up."

Before he could leave she spoke up again. "Got any song requests? Being a DJ has it's advantages." Echoing his words. Riku thought for a moment.

"How about something along the lines of Breaking Benjamin?" Sage nodded and started scrolling through music on her computer. "Got it."

XXX 7:30 PM XXX

Lights flickered, music echoed, and talking could be heard covering more talking as what seemed like the entire school enjoyed themselves. Several people were out on the dance floor as the somewhat darkened lights helped add to the mood while others were snacking on the large amounts of food. A variety of dresses and outfits could be seen as the students laughed and smiled, enjoying life.

The music dimmed some and a voice came over the intercom. "Hey people and welcome to Destiny High's school dance. I'm DJ Shadow, the same person that's going to be supplying you with music for hours on end tonight." Cheers could be heard and Sage grinned. "Quick thanks to Kairi and Namine, the two sophomores that were so kind to hook us up with a dance in the first place. Also to Riku, our chef for the night. So if you love the food, awesome, if not, then you know who to target afterwords." In the kitchen, Riku smirked at this, shaking his head.

"Alright, let's kick things off shall we?" More shouts as Sage quickly typed in a few keywords before hitting enter. The music switched and the party resumed.

Kairi pushed her way through the dancers and up to the DJ stand. She was dressed in a long light pink gown that was tied over one shoulder, falling to her knees and flowing as extra cloth came from her waist. She also had on a pair of white heels and a delicate gold bracelet on her right wrist. Sage saw her and removed her over-ear headset and walked down the few steps, dropping into a crouched position on the final one before the good two and a half foot drop to the gym floor. "Hey Kairi."

"Sage! I didn't know you were DJ Shadow!" She shouted, a smile on her face.

The girl in turn just shrugged. "I was bored." Kairi laughed and shook her head.

"That CD was amazing, I can't wait to hear what you have tonight. Remember, around nine Demyx is going to come up and co-DJ with you."

Sage nodded at this information. "Sounds good, I heard his CD, looking forward to it. Any request I should put it?"

Kairi thought for a moment. "Namine really likes this singer called Jem, do you have anything with her?" From the smile on Sage's face, she took that as a yes.

"It'll come up in a few songs." Sage confirmed. "Gotta go." Kairi waved before turning and heading back into the crowd. Sora and Roxas were dressed in identical suit pants and pressed white shirts with loose black ties. Namine had on a long white dress that had ruffled sleeves and fell to the floor, slightly trailing behind her as she walked. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail that had it draping across her shoulder and she had a gold chain similar to Kairi's. "Hey guys! Did you see Sage yet?"

Namine and Sora shook their heads but looked over to Roxas. "Man! Why didn't you tell us she was the DJ?"

He shrugged. "It never came up." Sora rolled his eyes and lightly punched his 'cousin' in the shoulder. "So are we ready to party or what?" Sora yelled, earning laughs and nods from the rest of them.

XXX 9:00 PM XXX

The lights darkened to where people could hardly see in front of them, and the music softened drastically, switching to an almost challenging beat. People looked around, trying to figure out what was going on and murmurs emanated from the crowd.

Suddenly the music switched to a more pulse pounding beat, and a single light flashed over Sage's stage, showing her holding one earphone to her ear while the other hand was altering the music. But when she took her hands off a new song came on, and so did a second light. The DJ booth to the left was illuminated and cheers could be heard as the person was exposed.

Demyx stood behind the booth and had on a pair of over-ear headphones as well, his light brown hair in it's unique hairstyle as his face was set on a wide grin. His bright blue eyes sparkling, he brought a hand up and waved at waves of extremely loud teenagers. "'Sup everyone! Ready to make things interesting?" Cheers responded to his obviously hyped up mood. "Alright then! I'm DJ Waves and with the help of my lovely accomplice DJ Shadow," Sage could be seen laughing, a smile on her face. "We're going to be bringing this place down!" He typed in a few commands on his computer and music resumed it's blasting through the speakers, Sage recognizing the song as one from Smile DK.

Immediately she started scrolling through her music, still grinning as the beat pounded throughout the school. She glanced over and Demyx gave the thumbs up before she brought in one of her own songs, Angel of Darkness by Alex C. Featuring Yasmin K. Demyx had an impossibly large grin on his face as he started to really get into the unique set up they had going on.

For the next two hours the little competition continued, both DJ's obviously enjoying themselves. Once during that time when Castle in the Sky was playing from Sage's system Riku had sent the two a more elaborate mean than what was being served to the dancers. Decked out pizza with large soda's had caused them to laugh while the end of the dance was coming to a close.

Finally, eleven thirty came around and the student's showed signs of tiring. Sage glanced over at Demyx who nodded, and switched on his mike. "Well guys, it's looking like we have time for one more song before we bail. Sound good?" Numerous forms of agreement came from them and Demyx elaborately bowed towards Sage, indicating her to take over the beat.

"Well guys, how about we switch over to something that everyone should know." She grinned and typed something through the chat window that she had set up with Demyx, quickly hitting 'enter' and watching his reaction as he read it.

"Oh yeah!" He yelled, "Looks like we're going to hook you guys up with a classic! Say hello to one of the most popular dance songs in history." Sage brought the volume up and both DJ's jumped at the cheers that eradicated from the place as Cha Cha Slide came up, severely remixed by the two. "Let's see some moving out there!" Demyx called.

Sage had to admit, to watched an entire student body do the dance was one of the most amusing things she had ever seen. At one point she saw Sora and Roxas, who looked like complete masters of the dance, while Kairi and Namine looked like they would fall over from laughing so hard as they participated as well. Riku was seen leaning against the door, looking pretty tired but smirking as he watched everyone. He looked up and gave an almost sarcastic salute to Sage, who just raised her hand and gave a half wave, smirking.

"Thanks everyone for supplying loads of entertainment." Demyx said as the song echoed out. "Can't wait 'till next time!" They put on a light sounding song as people started to file out of the room. Sage wiped some sweat from her forehead that had formed from being under a bright light for so long and quickly descended the stage, her backpack thrown over her shoulder as she made her way towards DJ Waves booth.

Demyx met her at the bottom and grinned. "Heya, I'm Demyx." Sticking out his hand Sage took it and they shook.

"Sage, I gotta say, that was the most fun I've had in a long time, and those were some pretty awesome mixes. You're own?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'm what you'd call a music freak." They laughed and Sage shook her head. "Yeah, I'm on the same boat. Hopefully we'll get to do it again some time."

"Heck yeah! So I'll see you at school Monday?" He asked.

"Sounds good, have a good one."

He nodded and clapped her on the shoulder as they walked out. "Talk to you later my DJ buddy!" Sage laughed as he walked out the double doors and followed behind him, feeling the fatigue catch up to her but being extremely pleased with the outcome of the event.


	10. We got wet!

_Why give up? Why give in?  
__It's not enough, it never is  
__So I will go on until the end  
__We've become, desolate  
__It's not enough, it never is  
__But I will go on until the end_

_Surround me, it's easy, to fall apart completely  
__I feel you creeping up again (In my head)  
__It's over, no longer, I feel it growing colder  
__I knew this day would come to end, so let this life begin_

_Why give up? Why give in?  
__It's not enough, it never is  
__So I will go on until the end  
__We've become, desolate  
__It's not enough, it never is  
__But I will go on until the end  
__I've lost my way  
__I've lost my way  
__But I will go on until the end_

Sage was in a pretty good mood that Monday. Her and Riku had broken their records that morning with their run, she had gotten loads of sleep over the weekend, work was going great and her new game soundtracks had just come in the mail, and to top it all off, the school had let her switch out the skirt from hell for a pair of simple jeans that were somewhat similar to the boys, just more form fitting. Yeah, everything was looking great.

That was, until she saw Kairi and Namine forcing the guys to sit still for a picture. Sage liked very few things in life, she was more of a person for disliking things that the world offered, and pictures were no exception. Denise had already left her scarred, the woman would take pictures like there was no tomorrow. But unfortunately before she had time to veer away, Kairi had caught sight of her. "Hi Sage!"

Sage paused mid-step and winced before turning around and giving a small smile. "Hey guys."

"Sage! HELP!" Sora yelled, making a move to quickly get up before Namine pushed him back down.

"Wimps." Sage smirked as she watched the torture. "We can't get them to give us a decent picture." Namine was explaining, "So really they're just hurting themselves."

"Why do you want their pictures in the first place?"

"Because! Pictures are great and they help solidify memories." Kairi said with a knowing nod. "We made them sit down for pictures last year and we're going to do it again this year." Namine giggled.

"Why can't we do this another time?" Roxas asked.

"Because the sooner the better." Kairi said. Then realization dawned on her and she looked at Sage. "Hey Sage..."

"No." She said in a dead monotone.

"But you didn't even let me finish!"

"I've been in enough pictures to last me a lifetime, I'm good."

"I never would have thought of you as a picture person Sage." Riku commented.

"My best friend is Denise, the woman who's practically glued to a camera. Trust me, they weren't willingly." Riku smirked at this while Kairi tried to win the girl over.

"Please! Plus they might stop goofing around if you did it with them."

Sage raised an eyebrow at this while Sora and Roxas started to wrestle, obviously focussing on something else other than the camera. After a moment she rolled her eyes and tossed her backpack to the side. "Alright, I do this you have to by me the knew Tiesto CD, deal?"

"Deal." Namine said quickly. Sage walked behind the two and next to Riku, dropping down next to him before taking Sora and Roxas's shirts and pulling them up off the ground. so they were sitting up straight in front of them. However, they seemed determined to have depressed faces. "Do this one good picture and I'll be you Sea-Salt ice cream today." She said, sounding dead serious.

Riku grinned and the two cheered just as the flash went off. Kairi and Namine clapped excitedly, looking at the picture on her digital camera. "Awesome!" Just as they were getting up Kairi watched as Sora stood on one side, while Roxas took the other, both slinging their arms over Sage's shoulders and grinning wide. "The great and all mighty ice cream provider!" Another flash, and Sage's face went from slight surprise to a glare as the girls giggled again.

XXXXXX

Kairi and Sage both paused in their sparing to look up at the runner who currently had their gym teacher's attention. As the person quickly talked the man nodded, glancing their way as he did so. Once they had finished Mr. Carter waved both girls over. "You two are requested by the principal to meet him at the office immediately." He said. "Go ahead and put your weapons away and head over there."

"Yes sir." Sage said, sheathing her daggers while Kairi nodded and both girls headed towards the large double doors and towards their lockers. They went their separate ways, breaking into a run to quickly put their things up before heading over to the office.

Principle Xemnas was known for being strict and requiring nothing but your 100% effort, but as long as you got work done and stayed on his good side, then there was really nothing to fear about him. Sage had met with him a couple of time throughout her two weeks here, mostly because within a new student's beginning time he wanted to know about their progress from their perspective and not just from the teachers.

Sage knocked firmly on the door and waited until she head a, 'come in' and opened it fully before stepping inside, leaving Kairi, Riku, Sora, Xigbar, Namine, Roxas, Demyx, and a few others behind in the waiting room, having been told by the receptionist that he wanted to see them one at a time.

She kept her face carefully composed as she stepped in front of them, standing straight and keeping her gaze steady. "Sir." She dipped her head slightly, her hair falling around her shoulders.

"Hello Sage." He greeted from behind his desk. "Please, take a seat." She did as she was told and he continued, straight to the point. "We are allowing some of the more harder working students to have a chance at extra credit that will involve programs outside the school. Have you ever heard of Adventures for Kids?" Sage shook her head and he nodded. "It's a program for children who need to be watched for a few days while their parent's handle personal matters. More than likely they have been witnesses to their parents using drugs, drinking, or fighting. While the adults handle these matters, the children spend their time at the organization until their parents sort out their problems. They are doing a remodel of their main building and have requested volunteers. We have gone and picked out students to help with the physical labor, and others to watch the children. Everyone in the waiting room has been assigned spots, but after talking with your gym teacher about your physical fitness I am giving you the option to chose to either watch a child for the day or help with the remodel."

"How old is the child?" While Sage loved physical work, especially construction, she also had a caring side for children, she could definitely classify them as a weakness for her.

"The child you would be assigned is six years old and named Samantha. Her father died at a young age and her drunken mother had a habit of remarrying any guy that came her way. While she is currently getting help, Samantha has been staying with Adventures for Kids." Sage was handed a folder and she opened it, scanning the contents and the picture. The girl had long brown hair that fell to her small back, she was pretty thin, but it didn't seem like it was in any unhealthy way. Large green eyes were slightly hidden by bangs as the child stared at her from the picture.

"It says she has slight fear of water, can you elaborate?"

"Once went to the swimming pool with a group of children from the organization. She was pushed in before the adult supervising the visit had a chance to stop her from being submerged. She was fine afterwords, just shaken up."

"Are there limits as to what I can do with her, activities and such." Sage asked, closing the file and handing it back.

"No, I'm trusting after reading your history report that you will be safe with her. Just help her have fun and keep her entertained for a couple of hours, that's all."

Sage nodded. "Alright, I'm in." Xemnas smiled slightly, the movement only lifting the corners of his mouth barely.

"I'm glad to hear it, you can meet her now." He pressed a button and asked the receptionist to send in the child. Sage got up and turned around as the door opened up to reveal a slightly heavier adult in a uniform leading the girl, Samantha, into the room. She kept slightly away from everyone and was hugging herself, looking around nervously with her large green eyes. Sage looked over her shoulder to the Principal, who nodded, before turning back.

"Heya kiddo." Sage dropped her normal monotone voice and sounded relaxed and slightly cheerful. "I'm Sage, what's your name?"

The girl looked up at her and Sage could have sworn she dropped a few shades in color but answered anyways. "Samantha." she said quietly.

Sage nodded and the two adults watched intently, wondering how Samantha was going to take to Sage. Both were surprised when Sage did something completely out of the ordinary. She dropped down and sat on the floor Indian style, now level with Samantha. "So Samantha, have you heard of the phrase, 'icebreaker'?" The older woman looked at Xemnas, who motioned for her to wait.

Samantha shook her head and Sage explained. "You know how right now you're really nervous around me?" This time she timidly nodded, hugging herself tighter. "Well an icebreaker is something that makes it to where you aren't nervous around me. So do you want to hear what my favorite way to do this is?"

After a moment of thinking she slowly nodded. "Yes please." The words were just above a whisper.

Sage leaned in close to her ear like she was telling a secret. "Ice cream."

Samantha's eyes widened as she looked at her. "Really?"

In return the teenager nodded. "Yep, do you have a favorite flavor?"

"Strawberry." This time there was no hesitation at all.

"Then would you like to get some strawberry ice cream with me Samantha?" Sage asked, tilting her head slightly.

Samantha giggle at the action, her arms loosening up around her. "Please." She said, her voice stronger.

"Alright then." Sage pushed herself up and held out her hand. "Shall we?" Samantha once again nodded and took her hand, waving to the person in the uniform before walking out the office door with Sage, who turned her head slightly to see Principal Xemnas nod in approval.

XXXXXX

"Favorite color?"

"Pink, it reminds me of flowers."

"Favorite food?"

"Tacos! Their good, and crunchy, and yummy, and and, just awesome!" Samantha cheered, licking at her ice cream furiously. In the short half hour Sage had been with her, she had gotten the kid to loosen up immensely and was now quizzing her on her favorite things.

"How about favorite animal?" Sage asked, taking a sip from her soda that she had gotten over the frozen desert.

She somewhat expected something along the lines of horses or cats, but instead heard. "Sharks." Sage raised her eyebrows questioningly and the child continued. "Their big and fierce, and they can be mean sometimes but it's just because that's the way they are, if they choose to they aren't always bad."

"You're right, sharks is a good choice." Sage agreed. She had led Samantha around town and they now found themselves in a larger part of the district, where Samantha spotted a photo booth outside one of the shops.

"Miss Sage?" She asked, looking up at the older girl.

"What's up kiddo?" Samantha giggled at the title Sage used.

"Can we go take pictures?" She motioned towards the photo booth. Sage inwardly smirked. _Of course, had to be something with photos._ "Sure thing, come on."

Samantha threw away her ice cream and climbed in behind the black curtain, with Sage following in after her. The bench was decent in size and could hold the both of them as Sage sat down, but Samantha crawled up to sit in her lap. Sliding the required money in, Sage put up her wallet in her backpack that she had rested at their feet and waited for the first picture. "You're picture will be taken in 5...4...3...2..."

"Cheese!" Samantha said, grinning widely. Sage smiled and the flash went off. Samantha quickly changed positions, standing on the seat and somewhat behind Sage, her arms wrapped around the older girl's neck.

"Silly face." She said, and Sage chuckled at the childish command in the words.

"You're picture will be taken in 5...4...3...2..."

Sage and Samantha stuck their tongues out at the camera as the picture was taken. As the countdown started again the smaller child let out a playful screech as she suddenly found larger arms wrapped around her and tickling at her sides furiously as she rested on Sage's lap. The picture went off with her mouth open in a laugh and Sage smirking some.

For the fourth picture Samantha reached up and took off Sage's black shades. "Hey." She said playfully, laughing at the child rested the glasses on her own face and looked at the camera.

The final picture was with Sage behind Samantha, who hand brought up in a rock sign while the smaller girl had on glasses that were to large for her face and waving furiously at the camera with one of the largest smiles she could have ever made.

XXXXXX

"Um, Miss Sage?" Samantha asked nervously, looking around them as they walked along the beach. She was on the other side of the teenager, the side away from the water.

"What's up Samantha?" Sage asked, hearing the tone of the child's voice. It was probably some time around three, and Xemnas had called telling her at five to bring her back to the office.

"Will you help me with something?" She waited until Sage nodded, encouraging her to continue. "Well, I have this slight problem...I don't like water."

"Really?" Sage inquired, acting like she didn't know.

"It's not that I don't like it on purpose, it's just I had a really bad experience with it in the past. But I did a lot of things that I've never done before today, and it was because of you, so I was hoping that maybe this was something you would help me do too." she looked up at Sage with fearful, but also hopeful eyes and Sage immediately agreed.

"Of course Samantha. Come on." Sage motioned to a small store next to the beach. "First things first, you're going to need a bathing suit."

It only took about fifteen minutes for them to find a cute pink one-piece bathing suit with multiple flowers on it while Sage just opted for a pair of swim shorts and a blank tank top she had in her backpack. After they had set their stuff on the beach in a pile Sage walked over to the water. She walked in till it was about to her knees and turned around, her eyes studying Samantha's nervous movements behind her shades.

"It's a little cold." Sage said, saying anything that was casual.

Samantha walked up to the edge and let out a slight, 'eep' as the waves rolled onto the shore, running back slightly. Sage gave a small smile as she walked back up to the beach, holding out her hand to a timid Samantha. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."

The girl look at Sage, then the waves, and back to teen before taking her hand nodding determinedly. "Ok, I can do this." she kept a small encouraging chant going under her breath as she slowly made her way to the water.

"You know what my friend's and I used to do in the water?" Sage asked, and Samantha looked up curiously.

"What?"

"We would go surfing." Sage explained, looking out of the corner of her eye to make sure she had Samantha's attention, a grin threatening to play on her face as the child had yet to notice she stepped in the water.

"What's it like?"

"Well, it's really fun and really exciting." Sage explained. Samantha now noticed that she was waist deep while Sage was only just reaching her knees. Samantha paused for a moment in her walk, looking nervous again. "But you know what the best part is? When it's really hot, the water cools you down really fast." Sage went waist deep and turned to Samantha, bending down to where her entire body from the chest down was submerged.

Samantha held out her hands and Sage reached out taking her hands and lifting her up and onto her back. Samantha hooked her hands around Sage's neck as she walked deeper into the water. "Please don't let me fall." She said, tightening her grip.

"I won't." Sage said. "I promised nothing would happen to you, remember?" She could feel the girl's hair against her back as she nodded and Sage just walked along the length of the beach some, making sure both of them were wet. After a while Samantha loosened up and started to enjoy herself, holding on to Sage's back while she let her feet float in the water behind her, giggling as it did so.

"Ah!" She shrieked in delight as Sage suddenly had her off her back and in the air, catching her and letting her body get submerged slightly before lifting the light girl up again, grinning. "Did I scare you?"

Samantha giggled. "No!" Then she started kicking her feet getting Sage wet as she did so. "Haha! You're wet!"

Sage set her down on a part of the beach underwater to where she wouldn't drown then smirked, bringing her arms out to the sides in the water before they were pushed in front of her, a small wall of water covering Samantha. Brief fear strangled the girl as it washed over her, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, and she stood with her hair dripping wet in front of a grinning Sage. "Now you're wet."

XXXXXX

"Come in." Xemnas ordered, looking down at the paperwork in front of his desk, frowning slightly as he studied it. He heard a pair of footsteps come in then close the door behind them. "What is it-" He paused, studying the sight in front of him.

Sage and Samantha's hair was dripping wet, while their clothes were somewhat dry. Sage had changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt she had grabbed from her house and Samantha was in her original outfit. A shopping back that held their bathing suits was hanging from Sage's left hand as well as her backpack while Samantha was on her back, her legs hooked through Sage's arms while her hands were loosely wrapped around her neck. The child was grinning like crazy while Sage smirked, her small and cheerful voice speaking for the both of them. "We got wet!" She giggled.


	11. Cures and Apologies

**Iffy chapter, I know. Not the best I've ever written but after this I'm fast-forwarding 4 months and things are gonna start getting real interesting. At some point I'll probably do a chapter listing the multiple playlist for the different chapters, especially the one for the Dances and DJs chapter. Thanks for reading, bear with me through this chapter and I'll update soon.  
-Shadoword**

_Sparkling angel  
__I believe  
__You are my savior  
__In my time of need_

_Blinded by faith  
__I couldn't hear  
__All the whispers  
__The warning's so clear_

_I see the angels  
__I'll lead them to your door  
__There is no escape now  
__Now mercy no more_

_No remorse 'cause I still remember  
__The smile when you tore me apart_

_You took my heart  
__Deceived me right from the start  
__You showed me dreams  
__I wished they'd turn to real  
__You broke the promise  
__And made me realize  
__It was all just a lie_

Pain, that's all her small body felt at the moment. Though she was pretty tall for a seven year old, she was almost twig thin, mostly do to all work, no rest, and eating bare minimum contributed to that too. Her torn up jeans and thinned out t-shirt made it look like she had some more meat on her than it could be led to believe, but right now that wasn't what she was dwelling on.

What she was thinking about at the moment was the searing pain that was lancing her back at the moment as another beer bottle nailed it right on. She had to give her father some credit, even drunk he had decent aim. Not something she really considered an achievement, and it sure as hell wasn't benefiting her now.

"And another thing-" His drunken voice currently came from the couch, her back turned to him as her hands were roughly tied to the stupid ring that he had bolted into the wall. Her arms stretched up above her left her just barely touching the floor. Growling a curse to herself, she listened how he once again repeated the top twenty reasons how she had ruined his life.

"Stop it!" She yelled as another bottle met up with her back, the anger only barely laced with pain.

"Why? So that way you can enjoy life when I had to suffer?" He roared.

"Sure! Why the hell not! At least I can make something out of it while it's obviously to late for you!" She fired back.

"Why you little!" Finally deciding it was enough, she wiggled her hands free of the rope, a trick she had learned a few months back, and turned to run for her room, knowing full well that he was drunk enough to where he didn't have any balance and coordination at all.

As soon as she crossed into her bedroom she slammed the door shut and threw the deadbolt, thanking her deceased mother for thinking of installing it about a month before she died, when things had really been ugly. "Get out hear you no good little-" Tuning her father out, she walked over to the bathroom and pulled off her shirt, surveying her red back with a look of disgust. "Disgusting old bastard." She growled. While it wasn't the cleanest thing, she had soon discovered a wide variety of cuss words at an early age, and found they helped went venting, kept her from doing anything to rash, like pulling her training daggers on the man she was ashamed to be related to.

A loud pounding came at her door and she attempted to ignore it, but found the task increasingly difficult with each attack at the wood. "Go away." She said, loud enough for him to hear.

When a solid crack reverberated throughout the room her eyes widened and she spun to see, who else, her father, in his glorious state of drunken rage, with a grotesque grin on his face. "Now about that rude behavior of yours..."

Sage's scream resounded throughout the house as the fist came down.

XXXXXX

Heart pounding, breath scarce, muscles tightened, Sage shot up in bed, sweat covering her as she looked around, fear clenching at her heart. What had startled her, was the loud beeping of her alarm, and after a moment she realized that she didn't want anything to do with the outside world. Grabbing her pillow and clutching it to her chest, she forced herself to take deep breaths and shut off the alarm with the remote. A good forty minutes passed before the phone rang, but she ignored it, letting it go to the answering machine as she closed her eyes and fought for control over her emotions.

XXXXXX

_Hey, this is Sage. Obviously I'm not available at the moment but leave your name and phone number so I can call you back. However, if you're attempting to sell something or I really don't care for you, don't expect that call. Later._

_Beep._

"Hey Sage, it's Namine, where are you? We missed you before school and Riku said you weren't in your magic and potions class, everyone's starting to worry, give us a call as soon as you can, ok? Bye."

"Heya Sage! Sora here. Where did you disappear to? You still owe us that ice cream and we could use your help trying to fend off the camera and it's paparazzi." Static ensued as yelling could be heard in the background. "No! No! I didn't mean you guys, it's just- Sorry Sage, give us a call back, and soon!"

"Sage, it's Riku, as soon as this last class is done we're coming over to check up on you. What happened? Give me a call when you can, just let us know you're alive. See you soon."

XXXXXX

She had a fever, that much she knew. After she had woken up from the alarm she had been lying in her bed, fighting off the headache. Her phone had been ringing but after the first one she just put it on mute and would every now and then glance over as the neon light came on. After an hour she had forced herself to change into a loose pair of shorts and a thin fabric t-shirt. With her hair falling about her it was now some time around three-thirty, and around the time she was ready to murder someone.

To help her relieve the anger that had been building up throughout the day, paired with the headache, she had pulled out her many guns and displayed them throughout the living room, cleaning them one by one on the coffee table while a Nightwish CD played from her Xbox from the TV. It had helped greatly, and with the glass off water she had been able to drink, she could feel her mood improving. Then of course her solid knocking came from her door, and a small frown came across her features as she got up to answer.

XXXXXX

_Please let me live. Please let me live._ Roxas thought. The others had twisted his arm to bring them here, and he wasn't sure how Sage would feel about that. Kairi and Sora had stayed over at the school to finish grabbing her homework for her, while him and the other two were now standing in front of her door.

Riku reached up and knocked a few times before letting his arm fall back into it's position across his chest, his backpack resting on his back. It was silent for a couple of seconds before the door opened to reveal Sage. She was exhausted, that was obvious, and she was pretty red, so Roxas guessed she was sick. Dressed casual beyond casual, she leaned against the door frame with her hands in her pocket, looking at the trio. When her eyes landed on him he gave a nervous chuckle and waved slightly. "Um, hey Sage."

She looked at them briefly, before turning around and walking back into her house, to the left and into the kitchen while they just stood there, unsure of what to do. "Are you going to let the entire bug colony come in or actually walk through that door." She called, opening the fridge.

Riku stepped in followed by Namine and Roxas. The later already had a glimpse at her house, but this was the first time for the other two so they were taking in the very clean surroundings. of course, when their eyes landed on the multiple guns that covered the floor and furniture, they were more than surprised. Sage came back with a soda from herself, walking past them back to her seat on the couch and picking up the barrel of one of her basic 9 millimeters, starting to wipe it down again.

"Where have you been?" Namine asked. "Everyone was worried."

"I didn't feel well." She replied shortly, being reminded how the alarm awoke her from a nightmare.

"You could have at least called." Namine argued, slightly miffed.

"Why would I do something that I don't want to do?" Namine's mouth fell open slightly.

"What?"

Sage got up and turned to look at them. "Why would I call people, who decided to invade my life, with reasons that I don't have to share with them? One, it would be a waste of my time, and two, it would be a waste of your time. But I seriously, stop complaining that I don't let you know what is going on every second of my life." Sage could see Namine was working to keep it together, but she saw it through a foggy mind, and she immediately knew her fever was picking back up again. Cursing to herself, she started walking for the bathroom, more specifically the medicine cabinet for pain killers, not knowing if it would help or not.

Riku motioned for Roxas to take Namine out of the house while he walked towards the back, wondering how to approach her. She seemed ticked off, but at the same time it looked like she didn't even know she was doing it. Glancing inside the bathroom he could see Sage working to look through the cabinet before she finally found what she needed, pulling out the large bottle of medicine and popping open the cap. "So how are you feeling?" He asked, watching her reaction.

"I could really use a shooting range." She admitted bluntly, taking two pain killers dry.

"So where'd you get all the guns?"

"Some were gifts, but I mostly bought them."

"Who would get you a gun for a gift?" He honestly couldn't think of someone buying a gun for a gift.

"One my three friends pulled together back at home to buy me the shotgun. Then my sensei who taught me how to fight. The rest are all on my own."

He went for it, praying she didn't have a knife stashed somewhere. "You know, Namine was just trying to help."

"But why give help to someone who doesn't want it?" She scoffed, and he could see she was starting to fight off something, maybe unconsciousness.

"Because that's what friends do." He replied, that's when she looked about to kill him.

"I have three friends, ones that I have known for years. I've known you people for two weeks, not enough time to decide if you are working to get past defenses so you can stab me in the back." Blunt, incredibly blunt.

"You seriously think that?" Riku was surprised, and a little worried, why the hell would she think something like that?

"Hell yeah." She said, nodding firmly. "It's happened once, so it can happen again." Riku just stared, but she seemed preoccupied with her own thoughts, which were trying to hold onto a solid thought and failing miserably. When the phone started ringing she growled a curse. "Stupid thing won't shut up."

Riku, seeing it on her bedroom floor, walked over and answered it, hearing Sage's protest as she walked, somewhat unstable, into the room after him. "Hello." He said, keeping a hand on her shoulder as she attempted to grab her phone, noticing she was a lot weaker in her attempts.

"Who's this?" An emotionless, almost cold voice replied.

"Riku."

"The silver haired teen?"

"That's me."

"Give me back my phone." Sage growled. The caller, Jason, heard her and let out a small groan.

"Please tell me she's not sick."

"How did you know?" Riku asked, pushing her onto the bed.

"Her voice is just a tad bit whiny, she only get's like that when she can't think straight." He explained. "How long?"

"Just found out this morning. She skipped school today." He explained. "Any suggestions?"

"Ok, go to her office and over to her shelves of CD's." Jason explained, walking into the office of the garage.

Riku called Roxas and Namine in, who had quickly recovered, and told them to keep Sage in her room, who obviously protested immediately. As they kept her from doing anything lethal he walked over to the CD's, eyes widening at how many there were. "That's a lot of music." He murmured.

"You're going to be looking for the CD labeled World of Warcraft Soundtrack, Burning Crusade. She has them sorted by type of music then alphabetized. Look for Soundtracks." Riku quickly found the CD, and pulled it off the shelf.

"Alright, what now?"

"Put it in her bedroom stereo, then go to number six, it's called Lament of the Highborn. Put it on repeat and low volume, but enough to where it can be heard throughout the room."

Riku walked into the room, to see Sage sitting on her bed, head in her hands and obviously fighting to stay conscious. "Who's on the phone." Was all she asked.

"Tell her it's Jason." Riku relayed the message and she held out her hand for the phone, face blank. Handing it over, he quickly set up the stereo and motioned for the others to leave, ready to follow them out when Sage shut the phone.

"What did he say?" He asked.

"That you guys wouldn't try anything as stupid as backstabbing me, and even if you did he'd kill you within three seconds of the act." Again, blunt. "He also said to go to sleep." He voice was fading in volume, she was about ready to pass out.

"Well he's right, on both accounts." Riku smirked, and watched as she laid down on her bed, arms wrapping around her pillow.

"Tell Namine I said sorry." She said, voice muffled by the pillow. Her mind was yelling at her to get up and lock up the house, but her body had other things in mind. "Now get out."

Hearing a faint chuckling, she sighed and closed her eyes, sweet oblivion greeting her.


	12. Deals and Orders

**I liked the way this chapter came out. I normally have more bloodied battles, (Being a modern-day action writer, I make plenty of these) but I cut back some. So I hope you guys like it, thanks for reading and I will update soon.  
-Shadoword**

_Another mission,  
__The powers have called me away  
__Another time,  
__To carry the colors again.  
__My motivation,  
__An oath I've sworn to defend.  
__To win the honor,  
__Of coming back home again.  
__No explanation,  
__Will matter after we begin.  
__Another dark destroyer that's buried within,  
__My true vocation.  
__And now my unfortunate friend,  
__You will discover,  
__A war you're unable to win._

_I'll have you know,  
__That I've become..._

_Indestructible.  
__Determination that is incorruptible.  
__From the other side.  
__A terror to behold.  
__Annihilation will be unavaidable.  
__Every broken enemy will know,  
__That their opponent had to be invincible.  
__Take a last look around while you're alive,  
__I'm an indestructible master of war. _

It had been four months. Four months of her wishing, hoping, and maybe even softening as life slowly eased up on her, giving her a chance to tread in easy waters instead of fighting against waves. In four months she had even decided to call the group of islanders her friends, people that she now held in high regards. So it took four months for her to allow a slight drop of her guard.

After four months, everything went to hell.

Sage was now beyond settled in Destiny Islands. Axel from the weapons shop was now on a first name basis with her, Demyx would share music and recommendations with her, Principal Xemnas was now accustomed to asking her for various volunteer drops, and she even occasionally had one of the group's dinners at her house, where they had dubbed her to make the best decked out burritos and nachos the world had ever seen. So when the events that one day were finally thrown into action, everyone knew about it.

XXXXXX

"_I'll have you know. That I've become indestructible-"_ Disturbed was by far one of her top favorite bands. With plenty of CD's to chose from and a variety of great songs, she was constantly listening to them either on her iPod or blasting the music through her stereo. Right now it was the former, her iPod was in the armband that was currently resting on her upper left arm while the earphones wired through her shirt to stay out of the way and were resting in her ears. Wearing a pair of torn up and worn out jeans with an old gray shirt, Sage found herself covered in oil as she worked underneath the car, muttering a few of the lines whenever they came up.

The reason she was under a car was simple, she had made a deal with one of the teachers, her gym teacher to be more exact. Mr. Carter had taken a liking to her and had dubbed her one of the top students in his class. Since that Friday they were pulling a major revision at work, she had convinced her teachers to give her the homework early. However, she had caught her gym teacher at a time when he was cussing out his car in an attempt to figure out what was wrong. Her being the part mechanic she was, easily picked out the problem, with him stating that if she got it done she could bail from class Friday.

So she had done it that Thursday, and it happened that Sora had saw her covered in oil, asked why, and once answered had remembered his parents needed theirs done as well. The small agreement between her and her teacher had now turned into a somewhat small gathering, with the others bringing their cars as well. Sage told them to bring the supplies, and she would take care of everything else. Overall it was pretty funny. Roxas and Sora were wrestling in Riku's front yard over a soda, Namine was sketching, Kairi was preparing lunch, and the silver haired teenager himself had gone on an errand to pick up Sage an Arizona Tea that she had asked him oh so politely for.

Something tugged at her foot and she bent her head up slightly to see Namine giving a small smile and waving for her to come out from under the car. "One sec, almost finished." The blond nodded and Sage took another minute to finish up tightening the bolt and pushing the tray of dirty oil out before following, standing up and stretching her sore arms.

Someone pulled out her earphones from behind and she glanced over to see Riku smirking, holding up a large can with the Arizona Tea logo on it. Grinning Sage accepted it and did a slight sarcastic bow. "Thank you kind sir." Opening the can and taken a large drink.

"You're welcome, thanks for doing everyone's cars." He motioned to the three lined up vehicles and she shrugged.

"No big deal."

"Guys. Time for food." Kairi came out carrying multiple sandwiches on a large plate. Sora and Roxas immediately stopping their arguing over the soda, and were now attempting to beat each other to the plate of holy food.

"So Sage, did you get that new soundtrack yet?" Namine asked politely as the teenager attempted to wipe her hands somewhat clean.

"The Gears of War Soundtrack? Yeah, it came in yesterday, definitely a good buy. Also, I got that tribute CD in today at the store, come by tomorrow and I can get it to you." The blond nodded happily at this information. She had been able to supply Sage with knowledgeable conversation when it came to music, something she was somewhat surprised to see.

"Hey Sage, want to go to the movies with us this weekend?" Roxas asked before taking large bite of his sandwich.

"I got work." She replied, feeling the vibration of her cellphone in her pocket. Taking it out and flipping the small device open, she scanned the contents frowning slightly.

_Penetration attempted at 3:29PM today.  
__Front door security system activated._

_Why the hell would the gang try to go through the front door?_ She thought. Besides the mobsters, she couldn't think of anyone else, and they had been leaving her alone. "Sorry guys, I gotta bail." She said, closing the phone up while still thinking.

"What? Why?" Sora asked around a mouthful of food, with Kairi hitting him slightly.

"I'm needed elsewhere." While she considered them friends, she had yet to tell them about her little family problem. Waving goodbye, she started down Riku's driveway and started walking, not having bothered to bring her motorcycle today. _Seriously, who else could it be?_ No one besides those five and the mob would bother to come to her place, even the runners from the school didn't, they'd call her.

_BAM!_

Sage literally _felt_ the bullet fly past the back of her leg before embedding itself into the ground in the yard next to her, blades of grass flying up in a small cloud of green. Senses kicking into high gear, her head snapped to the side to see the gun and it's shooter aim, letting another round loose. Sage's legs kicked off the ground and she burst into an all-out run, the adrenaline now flowing throughout her veins.

She cursed as another bullet made a close call near her thigh, and she took note of a fact. They weren't shooting to kill, they were shooting to wound and capture. Right when she thought, even after the crimson dagger warning, she was in the free, of course she had to get sloppy and that wasn't the case.

In her straight run, it took her about seven minutes to reach her house, now having a ragtag group from the gang chasing her down. She turned down the neighborhood where her own house was, her speed now pushing her farther ahead of her pursuers. But when she saw the front of her house, that changed.

"Son of a-"

_BAM!_

XXXXXX

"Come on guys!" The brunette haired girl cheered, "We're almost there!"

"Come on Denise!" Tyler whined, his sluggish walk starting to annoy her. "We've been walking forever, can't you slow down some?"

"Stop complaining Tyler." Jason said, his voice only having a hint of annoyance. "She's excited, let her be."

"But-"

"We're here!" Both boys looked up at the simple but nice house they stood in front of. They had screwed up direction wise so Jason finally had them park the car to save gas and walk it. After a good twenty minutes, it paid off. Denise squealed in delight when she saw the motorcycle parked in the driveway. "She must be home!"

"Sage did a good job with her house, it looks just as nice as the one she had in Twilight Town." Tyler commented, hating the fact that he had to use past tense.

Jason agreed with a quiet nod while Denise ran for the door, knocking quickly while slightly jumping in place. "Sage!" She called. The girl was even more excited, because her friend hadn't even known they were coming down, it was a surprise visit. When no one answered she frowned.

"What's wrong Denise?" Tyler asked, the two finally next to her.

"I don't know."

Jason reached over and tried the doorknob, but it was locked. "Looks like she's not home." He said quietly, bringing out his cellphone to try and call her. "Let me see if I can get a hold of her." About five minutes later after they had tried the rest of the entrances they had went back to the front. Sage wasn't answering her cellphone, and now they were starting to get worried.

"I wonder where she is." Tyler said, trying to think of other areas they could look around for. "Maybe-"

"There she is!" Denise shouted excitedly. Jason looked over, and sure enough, there was Sage, running to them at top speed. "Hi Sage!" She waved happily, a large smile on her face.

When Sage saw them she faltered slightly, her look changing from a strict hard gaze to one of horror. He saw her mouth something, then heard it overpowered by the sound of a bullet leaving the chamber of a gun.

"Move!" She yelled, no cutting across her yard. She ripped a key out of her pocket, had the lock undone and the door crashed open, with her shoving them in while a bullet hole was made in her door. Sage launched herself inside the house and kicked the door shut, locking it securely.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She yelled, spinning on them and glaring. Jason knew better, and could see that behind the anger was pure fear.

"Surprise visit." Denise whispered, staring at the hole in her door above her head, noticing how when Sage stood right next to it the hole was only a few inches from her skull. "Sage, is it-"

Gunfire rang throughout the house and Sage tackled her friend to the ground, immediately shutting up the girl as the bullets tore through the walls and broke the windows. Then as quickly as she was crushed under the weight, it was gone, and Sage was running to the back of the house.

She stepped into the office and ripped open a closet door to reveal a safe. Spinning the dial quickly she opened it and revealed the rows of guns displayed cleanly throughout the large metal. She grabbed a belt with a couple of holsters and quickly strapped it on before taking a few guns, shoving a clip into them and holstering them before finally grabbing a shotgun and loading it, stepping out of the room and back to the front of the house.

Jason had covered Denise and Tyler as another round of bullets tore through the house. He looked up and caught the nine millimeter Sage tossed to him. they shared a look, both not liking what was coming up.

The front door started to get beat on and the teen lightly pushed Denise into the kitchen while Tyler grabbed a dagger neatly hidden in her counter, getting ready.

Sage brought the gun up, unfortunately knowing the drill. _Let the hell ensue._ She thought sadly. The door burst open, the target appeared, and she pulled the trigger.

XXXXXX

"Uh oh." Kairi said, picking up the small silver device. Sage's iPod had been resting on a shelf in Riku's garage. "She must have put it up here when she came to get lunch."

"Come on, we'll drop by on our way to the beach." Riku said. They had decided shortly after Sage had left that they would go cool off at the beach, the warm sun starting to hit its peak. Riku grabbed the keys to one of his parent's larger cars, oil freshly changed thanks to Sage, and they all climbed in. Since her house wasn't that far away the ride went quick, and he pulled onto the curb next to her house before they piled out. It took a moment, but once that moment had passed, they were dragged into the fray. It had been momentarily when they had arrived, and had even walked in through the front door.

When they walked in they stood frozen in shock at the sight. Men dressed in dark clothing and with masks pulled over their heads were fighting a group of four people. Three of them they didn't recognize, a girl and two guys, while the forth was obvious. Sage heard the curse of someone behind her and spun around, saw the group, and growled something under her breath as she took a dagger and drove it into a gang member's surprised shoulder, bringing it down painfully to where it ripped through his body towards his lower back, the man howling in agony.

Riku, Sora, and Roxas, had pushed the girls behind them, and the men watched as suddenly these blades appeared in their hands, the normal teenagers now looking more manacling. Riku held The Way to Dawn in his hands, the black and red blade being held above him, Sora held the Ultima Weapon Keyblade, and finally Roxas held the dark black Oblivion. Kairi stayed with Namine, both girls studying the four people who were being attacked in the house as suddenly the three guys were jumped, and thrown into the battle. they had used their weapons to slay heartless and nobodies before, but actually human beings were a first, so it was somewhat hesitant. But when they heard a crash and saw Sage slammed into a wall, momentarily dazed, when all uneasiness left and they attacked, full force.

Riku found himself near the kitchen area, ducking as a fist swung for his head before taking his own and ramming it into the mans stomach hearing the grunt as his hand with the blade came down and across, cutting into their legs before he ripped it out and turned, bringing up his blade, the edge flat against his second palm as he held another weapon at bay. He stared back at the blond teenager who held a blade down, both studying each other for a fraction of a second before they broke apart. "Jason?" Riku questioningly confirmed.

"Yeah. Riku?" A nod in return before they both took large steps back and a body fell in front of them, the man groaning in pain. Jason and Riku shared respected nods before they turned back and once again engaged themselves in the battle.

Sora had been pushed off to the right, in front of a destroyed TV. He swung his blade around and caught someone in the back, taking his leg and slamming it into the chest of an advancing attacker before ripping his blade out, the blood seeming to glide off the Keyblade. He felt someone wrap their arm around his neck and his hand came up to grasp it, struggling to get out of the grip. When a solid 'thump' was heard and the arm disappeared, allowing Sora to dodge off to the side as a dagger came his way and allow his fist to connect with the man's face so he could finally turn around to see who had helped him out. Another brunette stood in front of him, and Sora quickly recalled his name, Tyler. "Thanks." Sora said with a goofy grin.

"No problem." He replied with a grin of his own. "Friend of Sage?"

"Yeah. Aren't you Tyler?" They were briefly interrupted by someone slamming into the wall next to Tyler, and they stepped to the side to block attacks and return ones of their own.

"Nice to meet you." He said with a laugh, before they both readied their weapons again and attacked.

Roxas quickly found himself moving towards the back, noticing how the fight was spaced throughout the building. When he hit the end of the hallway he turned into Sage's office and ducked to the left as an actual chain came down on him, slamming into the ground where he had been moments before. He took his foot and slammed it into the side of the guy's knees before taking the hilt of his blade and having it make contact with their head as they dropped to the ground.

Someone stepped out of the closet and he looked up to see a girl with long brown hair and glasses standing there, two knives in one hand, and a TMP gun in another. She nodded at him and stepped out into the hallway. "Sage!" The girl in turn looked from the hallway entrance and she caught the gun, then the knives that were smoothly thrown at her and in turn passed them off to Tyler. The girl turned back to him and just as he was about to say something he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, bringing his Keyblade out and holding it to fend off a dagger before pushing the weapon back and counterattacking. "Nice to meet you." She said with a giggle, turning back into the vault to grab more weapons to supply her friend with.

"Yeah, same here." He said, giving her cover.

XXXXXX

Sage growled a curse, not for the first time that day, as she brought her arm up to block an attack to her left side before taking her other one and lodging it in his stomach, looking straight at the mask that obscured his face before taking a gun and shooting him in the knees, causing him to cry out in pain as she moved on to her next target. They had come in full force this time, and she had to admit, this was unsettling. To add more of a challenge, her Destiny Island friends had come, and though they could defend for themselves, she still wasn't pleased about the situation.

Sage pulled out her daggers, taking comfort of the feel of the weapons in her hands, and intended for them to be used once again for their true purpose, to spill more blood. "Oh miss Sage." She turned and glared when she saw the man, immediately recognizing him just by voice alone from all those years ago, the leader of the first ambush led against her. The fabric shifted around the area his mouth should be and she knew he was grinning at her, which caused her glare to deepen.

A gun came up and she went defensive, knocking it to the side so the shot went wide and into the wall before her other one came down and unlocked his elbow, the gun then being pointed up before she finally tore it out of his grip. But he was quick to improvise and pulled a knife, also being to close for her to aim the gun, so she tossed it uselessly to the side and readied her own daggers.

His weapon slid across her blades as she held them vertically when he slashed at her, retaliating be taking her left dagger to cut across at him while the second quickly followed up on the opposite side. She dropped down to a knew when a fist and dagger came for her, taking her own hand and slamming it into his knees. He stumbled back but stayed standing, taking his leg and having come crashing down on her, she dodged just enough to where there was no serious damage, but the made that followed quickly clipped her arm, a small trail of blood following up.

She rolled on her other shoulder to dodge another strike and came up, her daggers flipping in her hands so they trailed up her arms. She used one to take a strike at his left flank, and while he used his own to dodge it she brought her foot up and kicked him, hard. Having been turned around, he was slammed into the wall, one hand driving her dagger painfully into his lower arm, causing him to drop his knife as his arm was pinned to the wall, while the other dagger was pressed alarmingly close to his throat, his uninjured arm weakly holding her arm at his throat.

"Now Sage, is that any way to greet an old friend?" He smirked.

"I want you to get out of my house, and _never_ return." She growled.

"Sure, on one condition, it's required you come with us." He said, sounding extremely matter fact about the subject.

"What makes you think after all these years I would?" She replied. A low chuckle could be heard and her blood froze, as she then noticed an alarming fact, silence had settled across the building.

Dagger still pressed to his throat, she looked over her should and took the scene in with horror. Tyler and Sora were backed into corners, the gang members safely away from their blades as guns were leveled with their heads, Jason and Riku, obviously having been tough opponents, had been knocked unconscious so their threat level was absolutely none, and Kairi and Namine were being held in place by their shoulders by two more men. She heard a whimper and saw an unconscious Roxas thrown over someone's shoulder while Denise was led out with a dagger pressed to her throat.

Sage looked back at the man, and through the slits in his mask she could see the dancing and sickening glee in his eyes. "Now, shall we talk?" The blade was pressed closer to Denise's neck and Sage quickly relented, taking her own back as she stepped away, even going as far to sheath her own daggers, along with the bloodied one she'd non-to-lightly ripped out of his arm. The leader of the group nodded and Denise's neck was momentarily away from harm as the blade disappeared. "So this is how it works, you're going to come with us-"

"Shut up and listen." She said. Everyone was starting at the pair now, with Sage standing with her arms crossed and looking directly at the leader, knowing if she looked at her friends then she would end up faltering. "You are going to leave them alone and let them go, never again stepping a single foot into their lives. Do this, then I'll come, no fight at all."

"Sage, no!" Denise cried, and the dagger was back at her throat. Sage didn't even look at her, and she felt a little hurt by this but knew why she did it.

"Is that a deal?" She asked, completely emotionless to where she would give Jason a run for his money.

The leader glanced around for a moment, then finally nodded slowly. "Alright, we have a deal." Sage let out a low and slow breath through her noes, fist clenched as she watched the dagger fall away from her friend, and the hands on Kairi and Namine loosen some. Right when she thought they'd be in the clear, she felt someone grab her shoulder and spin her around, finding herself staring into the mask.

"Problem is." He whispered. "I was ordered to bring them along too."

Sage's eyes widened, "NO!" But he brought something up and sprayed it in her face. She non-intentionally inhaled it and her conscious quickly faded her legs giving out as all she heard was the commotion ensuing around her before completely and total darkness surrounded her.


	13. Meeting Up With The Past

_Milk it for all it's worth  
__Make sure you get there first  
__The apple of your eye  
__The rotten core inside  
__We are all prisoners  
__Things couldn't get much worse  
__I've had it up to here, you know your end is near_

_You had to have it all  
__Well have you had enough  
__You greedy little bastard  
__You will get what you deserve  
__When all is said and done  
__I will be the one to leave you in the misery and hate what you've become_

Kairi would admit, she was terrified when she saw the strong and independent Sage get knock unconscious. As if that hadn't been enough, watching a friend fall, her with the rest of her friends had quickly been shoved into large vans and bound in rope while they drove. With Kairi, Namine, Denise, and Tyler in one van, the other five had been shoved in the second one, leaving her wondering how they were faring.

Looking around in the darkened space, she saw Tyler sitting in the corner seething with a rag tied around his mouth, apparently he had been angering their captors with various words of rebuke. Denise had her tied hands resting on top of her raised knees, and Namine was sitting next to her, her hands clenched so it wouldn't be to obvious they were shaking. As for herself, she was just trying to figure out where they were going. Their captors were sitting in the front, so a solid wall separated the group from them for which she was thankful for.

"Excuse me, Denise." She said quietly. The girl looked up, and Kairi could see tears stained her cheeks.

"Yes?" She replied, just as softly.

"Do you know where we are going?"

"Back to Twilight Town, that's where the gang's headquarters is." She replied.

"Why is a gang after Sage in the first place?" Namine asked.

Denise looked town at her hands, her thumbs playing with each other. "Sage's family has done some dealing with them before. But when they didn't pay up, they came for her."

"But wouldn't her parent's due something about it?" Kairi asked. "She's their daughter!"

The brunette looked up at them. "Where do you guys think her parent's are?"

"She said she came to Destiny Islands to study while her parent's traveled for work." Kairi replied in a confused tone.

Tyler's voice was muffled by the cloth so Denise scooted over and untied it for him. "Thanks Denise." She nodded and stayed close to her friend, taking comfort in his close presence like Kairi had done with Sora on many of their more threatening occasions.

"Sage's parents are dead. Her mom died some time around four, and her dad was dead around ten I think." Kairi and Namine sat in shocked silence, and he answered the questioning look in their eyes. "Her mom was stabbed, her dad. Well, he had a slit throat."

"That poor girl!" Namine said. "I can't believe she's been going for so long without her parents."

"Her mom she misses, her dad, I would say she's pleased that he's dead. In all truth, he was a bastard." Tyler said it so bluntly, Denise gently rubbed his shoulder, knowing when he wasn't his normal cheery self that it was because of him thinking of the hardships his friend had been through.

"Why didn't she go to anyone for help?" Kairi asked.

"Sage was never one for accepting help from others." Denise said. "She didn't take well to pity and wanted to work for her things, not have them given to her. That's just the way she is, it's also what makes her...her." Denise chuckled softly and a sad smile came over Tyler's features.

"So what made her move here?" Namine asked.

"The gang burned her house down and she wanted them away from us three, so she moved here with hopes of finishing them off here, or at least having them loose her trail."

"So she moved to keep you guys safe." Namine said. "Wow."

"You have to understand. Sage had a crappy childhood, and almost refused to make friends. But of course Denise was stubborn as well." Tyler chuckled. "But she took her few relationships seriously, she doesn't go and just hand out friendship. Instead, she'll literally lay her life on the line for those she cares about. Back at home, before she came here, there were four people where she even acknowledge their existence. Me, Denise, Jason, and her fighting sensei, Mr. Ogatami. That man basically filled in the role of teacher and even took on some parenting roles as well."

"So, does she consider us friends?" Kairi asked hesitantly. She was more afraid of the teenager's view on her, the thought of her leaving her to die never even crossed her mind.

"See, back there when the negotiations were going on, if you weren't her friends, she would have said just Tyler, Jason and I. But she demanded all of us, so yeah, you've definitely reached the rank of friends." Denise said happily. "Which is probably one of the best things I think can ever happen to her."

"So what do they plan on doing to Sage when we get there?" Namine asked quietly, hesitantly.

Denise and Tyler looked at each other, and she shook her head nervously. "I honestly don't know."

XXXXXX

Jason was angry, he was beyond angry, he was furious. First they go and attack Sage head-on. Then they practically destroy her house again. To follow it up, apparently he was knocked unconscious right before the negotiations. Sora had filled him and Riku in sadly, and he could see this worried the silver haired boy, so he assumed he wasn't always this depressed.

Currently he was working on his bonds, his face silent and composed as he focused on the task at hand, but it was proving difficult. Then Riku came over and worked with them, and after a couple of minutes his hands were finally free. Nodding his thanks, he quickly made his way over to Sage, who had her hands bound behind her, a gag around her mouth, and her head was bowed against her chest, her hair covering her face. He gently lifted her head and brushed her hair back, letting out a string of fowl words come from him.

The others stayed silent as he examined her closely, checking for any more sever wounds. Finally Riku came over and sat next to her, hands still bound, and focused, letting his eyes close to make it easier. They had just been learning how to use darkness to heal wounds, and that was what he intended on doing.

Jason stayed silent, knowing Sage had respect for him. Darkness started to encase his hands in a shadowy form as he laid his hands on her shoulder, seeming completely out of it. When the darkness started to spread he watched warily as it caressed his friend, but noticing the little things like how the scratches on her arms and bruises that had been forming were starting to fade away. When Riku pulled his hands away the darkness disappeared and Sage looked in better condition, but her eyes remained close.

"How did he knock her out again? Jason questioned.

Roxas listened as Sora answered. "He sprayed something in her face, kind of like a gas."

"Wonderful." He growled, sighing some as he tucked a white strand of hair behind her ear. "How has she been holding up before this happened?"

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.

"Has she been sleeping at least a solid five hours, what has her work schedule become, school, the basics." His voice was back to his monotone coldness.

"At least a solid five hours?" Sora exclaimed. "That's impossible!" A low chuckle escaped him as he shook his head, then turned to Riku, expecting actual answers.

"Sleep wise, I would say five to six hours for sure. Work has been pretty insane the past week or so, a revision was coming up. She's been pulling overtime on school so she could have a few days off for it. Around five-thirty she's for sure up to go running, I know this because I run with her, but she seemed to be holding up well." Jason nodded.

"So how much as she let you guys in?"

"Since we first met her, tons." Roxas replied. "Still waiting to meet her parent's though."

The blond sighed and shook his head, looking back at his friend. "Her parents are dead, have been for years now. Looks like you guys haven't gotten that far yet."

Sora and Roxas looked at each other in shock, while, surprisingly, Riku nodded. "Makes sense, always knew there was more to it."

"But you never pushed it." Jason said. "And that's good, or else she would have just cut you out of the picture completely. If someone get's to close on a subject she doesn't like, her instincts kick in and she blocks you out of her life."

"So is that why she's so cautious with friends?" Jason nodded to confirm this. "Then I'll just take it as we got lucky-"

The car screeched to a halt and everyone was thrown forward, with Jason catching Sage before her head collided with the van floor. A few seconds later the doors swung open to reveal a group of the gang members standing there. When they saw Jason with his hands untied they started bringing out weapons just as he got ready to put up a fight.

"Don't." He glanced down in surprise to see Sage leaning weakly against the wall. "Just go along with it." She murmured. He thought for a moment before nodding and stepped out, bringing Sage out and keeping an arm around her as she leaned on him to keep from falling, still being affected by the gas. A solid shield was made around them as they were led to a large and dark building in one of the more morbid parts of the normally bright Twilight Town.

Jason saw the others come out of the second van and was glad to see they were faring pretty well. Suddenly Sage was ripped out of his grip and shoved down a separate hallway. He glared and stepped after her but two men with shotguns stepped in his way, motioning for the hallway leading opposite of where she was stumbling. After a few moments and a gun to the head, he finally obliged, walking with the rest down the dark area.

"You alright?" Kairi asked the group.

"Been better." Riku said bitterly.

"What do you think their going to do to her?" Denise asked Jason timidly.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, looking older and more tired. "I wish I knew." His hand gripped her shoulder in a comforting way. "But she's strong. She'll make sure to bring them hell."

XXXXXX

It was dark, that was the single simple fact that described everything perfectly. Surprisingly, she didn't hurt much, her body actually felt pretty good besides the fact that something around her wrist felt like it was attempting to pull her hands off, this ruined that feeling.

Groaning some, she tried to fight off the comforting waves of unconscious, knowing that if she didn't, then people would die. She didn't know who, and honestly part of her wanted to say 'screw it' but of course, that wasn't like her, and she refused to start the new lifestyle now.

Then she was dropping, the air rushing past her at frightening speeds before it disappeared completely, and she was engulfed. The wonderful breathing tool was cut off, and instead replaced by something more solid, and Sage registered that it was freezing.

This shock of cold snapped her back to her senses and her eyes opened wide. Reflexes told her to take a breath, but she would be getting nothing but water, the liquid that now encased her body. She struggled for a moment, quickly loosing breath since she didn't have a chance to store some before the predicament happened. However, soon the tugging feeling at her hands reappeared and she now knew why it had felt like her hands were trying to be ripped off, she was being pulled up by a rope, the air piercing her skin as the stone walls surrounded her closely.

Lungs taking deep breaths of air, she fought off shivering to badly as she finally reached the edge of the well, and got a sight that she had wished to never encounter. Surrounding the well in the center of the area were various members of the gang, their ranks symbolized by the armbands they wore over their long sleeved shirts with the large white skull displayed proudly across their chests. However, out of all of them only one seemed to be the higher up.

He was dressed in jeans and a black shirt, obviously, but it was cut off at the shoulders in almost a tearing pattern, and his skull had chains encircling it. He didn't have a mask, so she saw the bright red hair that was cut short and the moon that was directly above the small clearing made his darker image seemed even more cunning as dark blue eyes studied her. A hardened face grinned as he took in the sight before him, and it made her want to throw him a punch right at that moment.

"Boys." He called, starting to circle her hanging form. "Looks like we got ourselves a keeper!" Cheers started ensuing from everyone and a low growl escaped her throat, the leader stopping in front of her again.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Sage? We've missed your company." His tone was mocking, the grin still on his face.

_I sure as hell haven't missed yours._ She thought, but just stayed silent, so he continued on. "And we have to say, you hurt us. You seemed like someone who would uphold their end of the deal, you _seemed_ like someone who believed in honor and all that bull. So why not keep that up when it came to us?"

"Simple." She replied. "It wasn't my deal. And I do have honor, I do keep up my end of the bargains, but I am no way tied in with the crap my sorry excuse for a father pulled off." She smirked. "It also isn't my fault that you guys couldn't keep your precious money away from an incoherent drunk."

He scowled and she could hear cursing and threats in the crowd. Sage inwardly grinned, she'd hit a soft spot. "But that's not important. What is important, is that we get our money back." He said, that grin back in place. "So how do you want to do this?"

"I don't and I won't."

The Leader nodded to her right, to the guy holding her in place, and immediately he let the rope go. Sage sucked in a lung full of air before she dropped underwater again, pain momentarily searing through her body before dulling. After a moment she was pulled back up, breathing through her mouth as the wall disappeared and was replaced by his grinning face and the cheers of the rest of his men.

"Shall we continue?"

"Let's." She growled, and he knew she wasn't talking about handing over the money. So he just nodded again and the air once again rushed past her.

It was going to be a long night.


	14. Nightmares Come Alive

_I find the answers aren't so clear  
__Wish I could find a way to disappear  
__All these thoughts they make no sense  
__I find bliss in ignorance  
__Nothing seems to go away  
__Over and over again_

_Just like before..._

_Everything you say to me  
__Takes me one step closer to the edge  
__And I'm about to break  
__I need a little room to breathe  
__Cause I'm one step closer to the edge  
__I'm about to break. _

He was a very annoyed man. Sage had been tougher than he had given her credit for, and that was costing him time, much needed time. Hey, being a gang leader there was a lot to get done, and as much as he enjoyed seeing her put through misery, there was work that needed to be done. So around one that morning they had finally called it, though his men seemed disappointed by this, they were reassured that is would continue on later that night.

Sage had been hauled off to the cells, they had gotten back to work, and he was now walking through the various hallways, mentally ready to go and get some sleep. However, when he turned down one he came to a certain point. He could go right and to his lavished chambers, or he could go left, and pay Sage another miserable visit. As much as sleep called to him, he couldn't resist making her more depressed. Though she hid it well, he could see her exhaustion was catching up, and that meant her barriers that held back her emotions were as well.

So he went left, through the hallway and quickly coming up to one part of the cells. He had ordered her to be put away from her friends, less hassle and no doubt the guards would get annoyed at their talking and at some point shoot them, they weren't known for their patience. So she currently had two guards in front of her cell, and when they saw him they greeted him appropriately.

He grinned. "How about you two take a break, I wish to have a talk with my longtime friend." He could see them under their masks break into grins of their own and nodded, quickly stepping through the door that led into the hallway. The cell had your standard metal bars, with a large lock off to the side, and was fairly large. And hanging on the wall across from the doors was Sage, once again having her arms be the only thing keeping her up. The chains were just low enough to where her feet could touch the ground, and were solidly bolted into the stone wall. Her hair was still wet, hanging limply around her, and she looked paler, no doubt from lack of warmth. He grinned.

The setting couldn't be more fitting.

"Hello Sage." She slowly lifted her head, and he could see that though she didn't look good health wise, she still had a fire blazing in her eyes. They'd have to take care of that.

"Bastard." Was all she said, her face a composed mask but her voice holding all the hatred for him.

"So I've been told." He replied with a wave of his hand. "So there's still time to reconsider, it definitely would make things go much more smoothly."

"Why would I make things easy for you, when you haven't given me that luxury?"

"Because that would be the smart thing to do." He took out a key and unlocked her cell, opening the door wide as he stepped in and walked up to her.

He stood mere inches from her, their bodies much to close for her comfort and he could even feel her somewhat raged breath on his face. "Because you know what I want that will allow you to live."

"Money or not you planned on killing me in the end." She growled, not breaking away from his gaze.

He lifted a strand of her hair with his hand, playing with it in his fingers. "But what if I had other ideas?" He asked, looking from her hair back to her face. "What if I had more _happier_ plans?"

He cursed as her head slammed into his and stumbled back, holding his forehead gingerly. When he pulled his hand back, he was shocked to see blood there. Glaring, he looked back up at her and the smirk on her face, some blood also on her forehead. "Hell. No." She said.

"You little piece of-" He heard the door open up and wiped his forehead as the guards came back in, putting on that grin of his. "No worries, I'm sure we'll come up with a conclusion sooner or later, but I don't expect the wait to be that long." Sage held back a shudder as he walked out of the cell and the guards took up their posts again.

Sage sighed and rested her head against the wall, a headache coming on. But she didn't care, it was beyond worth it. A grin came across her face. And when she got the chance, she'd make sure to leave him with more than just a minor cut on his head.

XXXXXX

Carter was jumpy that night as he got ready for bed, which was simply pulling his shirt off and throwing on some slacks. He was the leader of one of the gang's top forces, he had been the one to bring the pain in the ass Sage in, and he was also one that had the deaths of well over a hundred people on his record. So of course, even with all of these under his belt, it had to be that something that was none of those things scared the crap out of him.

The nightmares had been getting more consistent. And each one had the same thing, almost said the exact same lines. A man would be standing there, his hard body and intense green eyes boring into him as his dark black hair hung just past his ears. His jaw was firm and he had the body of a construction worker. This man would always meet him in a black abyss, with the same message, one that he didn't have a clue as to why it would be important.

Carter ran a hand through his hair, going to rub the back of his neck. He had told one or two people about it, but they had just waved it off and said he should forget about them, they would end at some point. So he went along with it, praying for their words to be true.

"Just some stupid dream." He muttered to himself.

"You've disobeyed orders." He gasped and spun around, his legs threatening to give out under him as he stared at his nightmare.

The man stood in front of the door, his form towering and menacing. "You were to not harm the girl. You were to tell your Leader she wasn't to be harmed when captured. Orders were disobeyed."

"Y-You're not real." He stuttered. "N-Not real! Just a dream!"

The man smirked. "It doesn't seem that way. Now you have to be punished for your acts."

Carter backed away, but his back hit the wall and he was frozen on the spot as the man advanced on him. "Please, don't! I'll do anything!"

"To late." A hand shot out and grabbed him by the neck. Carter's eyes widened as something seemed to emit from his hands, and his throat felt like it was being held against flames and ready to peel back from the outside in. His hands tried to rip the hand away, but to no avail.

Minutes later the hand let go, and the body slid to the floor, dead eyes seeing nothing as they landed on the feet in front of them.

The man smirked and shook his head. "Was hoping to have the honors of making her life hell myself, but it seems like I came just a tad bit to late." A dark chuckling echoed in the room. "But that don't mean I can't contribute to it."

XXXXXX

It was nearing ten that night, the moon already shining down on Twilight Town as the last of its citizens rushed home to their beds. However, while they worked to get to bed, others were doing the opposite, and preparing for a late night. Riku had known that something was going to happen that night as he along with the rest of his friends sat in the cells. Their guards were getting animated and excited, talking in quick and hushed tones but their voices carrying on the anticipation.

When the clock tower bell started to ring, signaling eleven now, that's when things were put into action. All of them were removed from their cells and escorted throughout the large warehouse that played as their base. It was on the outskirts of town and seemed deserted, so it made sense since no one ever came here. It was a good five minute walk as they were led through various hallways, but soon they turned down the final one to reveal two large double doors at the end, and they could see a bright light emanating from the other side from the cracks.

The doors were pushed open and they were shoved in, taking in the sight of the large and clear second floor of the building. Along the rims of the area, in seemingly neat layers, rows of metal pathways were set around the room, allowing for the large crowds of people to stand and have a clear shot at the blank space in the center. On the wall far across from them one row was specifically dedicated to the Leader and a few of his higher-ups. There were no windows, but large lights that sent bright glares down onto the area, lighting it up with no problems.

They were escorted to the floor just above the Leader, and it was there that they took seats in the metal chairs given to them, their guards standing on either side of the group. Riku and Jason each sat on one end, with it going from left to right continuing with Namine, Denise, Sora, Kairi, Tyler and Roxas. After a couple minutes of loud talking it seemed without any effort the room fell into silence as the doors on the first floor opened up wide.

Sage walked in, shackles holding her hands behind her back and two guards leading her with her upper arms in a death grip. Even from a distance Riku could see the bags under her eyes, but she still walked tall and had that air of challenge around her, something that made him grin. When they reached the center they stopped and her bindings were removed before the guards walked away and back out the doors.

It was still silent as the crowd took her in. Sage crossed her arms and stood with her feet planted apart on the cement floor, looking straight up at the Leader. However, when she loved on the floor above him she scowled some when she saw her friends sitting in the chairs, preferring they wouldn't be here. She had heard rumors, and she didn't want them to see her in a more bloodied form of survival that was so second nature to her.

"Men." Their Leader called, a grin on her face. "I give you a challenge. Whoever is to make Miss Nightstalker surrender the payment first, will be rewarded with more than money and items combined." Cheers erupted throughout the area, and Sage worked to keep the frown off her face. "You will be given two minutes tops before the next group of contestants come up. But be forewarned-" He took two items in his hand and tossed them to the center of the arena.

Sage stepped forward and caught them smoothly, pulling out her daggers she had carried all these years. "She is not unarmed. But you can use any weapon of your choice." More cheers, but Riku could see the glint in her eyes. He glanced over and saw Jason shaking his head, a smirk on his face. "So let the fights begin!"

Sage grinned, and it was one of her more malicious ones. A group of five dropped down from the first row and made a large circle around her, chuckling as they pulled out their various weapons. Sage placed her sheaths at her waist before she continued on to sheath her own daggers, leaving her hands bare. Murmurs were heard around the arena, and the teenagers gasped, wondering what was going through her head.

The fight began.

Sage leaned back as a throwing dagger flew by her, feeling the wind against her neck as it missed before she spun around forward, the ax embedding itself into the ground. The man in front of her charged her with a chain swinging in his hands, and she did a back flip her hands landing on the ax wielder's back and pushing him into the ground as she pushed off, landing in a kneeling position. She rolled on her shoulder to the right as she heard footsteps behind her, then quickly sprang to her feet as someone threw a fist her way.

Left arm coming up to block the oncoming fist, her other one connected with his gut and she stepped back, the chain wielding man back. He brought the chains down quickly and she stepped to the side, letting them fall next to her before she quickly grabbed one end and wrapped it around her arm. With the length of the chain in her favor, she brought her arm in an upward motion that sent the chain between the two of them flying up before circling the man's neck, secured tightly. Before he had time to do anything she did a roundhouse kick into his upper left shoulder, sending him spinning and landing on his stomach with the chain tightening. Her boot landed on his struggling back and she grabbed his end of the chain before ripping both ends up, and almost hearing the sound of his neck cracking as she did so.

The arena went silent as the chains unwound from her arms and she stepped off the now limp body. The final four got back into position around her, and her daggers slid free of their sheaths. "My turn."

The ax wielder went first, charging at her from the side. She stepped back, with him running past her quickly, but not quick enough to avoid the blade as it sliced through the side of his neck deeply, the body quickly dropping to the ground and a thin river of blood staining the floor. He was followed up by a member with a dagger of his own. She crossed her daggers as he tried to drive the small weapon into her chest, and feeling the metal slide across her own she pushed them up, his arm going up as well before her foot slammed into his knees, dropping him to the ground before she spun around and set another kick into his face, his head snapping to the side sickening as he dropped backwards. Now there were two.

They decided to double team her. One had an assortment of throwing knives at his waist which he reached for, while the other was a solid two-handed sword. Sage dodged to the side and low as the sword faked a head on attack and turned into a side-sweeping on, the blade going over her head before she had to do a somersault forward as two throwing daggers landed where she had been moments ago. She had somehow landed on her back after avoiding another hit so when the blade came down she had only one option.

The clashing of metal could be heard throughout the arena as her two daggers crossed, blocking the obviously heavier blade from cutting through her flesh. Her muscles tensed to keep the blades in place as her attacker leaned more into the attack, having the advantage.

Her blades were slowly being lowered, coming closer and closer to her. Sage took a deep breath and pushed, sending all of her energy into the move. It bought her just a couple inches that were enough to throw him off balance, and she moved them to the side, taking the sword with it before disengaging and rolling to the side, pushing herself back on her feet before launching herself at the swordsman. The large blade wasn't quick enough, so soon the daggers pierced his flesh like there was little resistance at all.

After the second stab she was once again assaulted by throwing knives. Sage turned and started running for the man, dodging left and right to avoid the weapons, but some still leaving scratches on her arms and legs as they flew by her. However it wasn't enough before she tackled him to the ground, a dagger being driven into his chest before she executed a roll and came up once again in a kneeling position a few feet away from the body.

Angry shouts were heard as she walked back and took the dagger out, blood glistening on the blades. Sage rolled one of her shoulders feeling a bit sore, but looking around her at the crowds of gang members, wishing she could just kill them all off one by one. When her eyes landed on the Leader his brows were furrowed just slightly before his signature grin came back. "Next group!"

Sage refused to look at her friends as five more men came onto the floor, her daggers coming up to follow up her arms as she held them tightly. _Please forgive me. _She thought sadly, and almost with begging. The command was given and once again the sickening games continued.

XXXXXX

The kunai was the final weapon to enter the back of the neck. Sage released the smaller weapon and the member fell forward, just like so many before him. She had to give him credit, his weapons were a little more unique than the rest and had been fun to use. However that didn't keep the fatigue from threatening to completely consume her. It was almost two that morning, almost two and a half hours of fighting various members, some a lot more challenging than others. But she still won in the end, even if it was at a cost.

She could literally feel her friend's gazes bearing into her, and thought she would go mad from the weight of it as she turned around to face the wall where they sat. She lifted her head up and instead of that cool and collected grin, the Leader's face was of pure furry. The crowd of gang members was drastically thinned out, another thing that she took pride in.

The Leader stood up and stomped down the stairs onto the arena. "Why the hell can no one break her!" He yelled at the crowd, storming towards her. She did nothing as two guards grabbed her roughly and forced her into a kneeling position, her daggers already sheathed at her waist.

He took a gun from his own waist and waved it around at them. "It's not that simple!" The simple nine millimeter was aimed at her, and the trigger pulled.

Sage yelled in pain as the round tore through her arm, a well placed shot. Missing her bone and any vital arteries, it wasn't lethal, but it still hurt like hell. She kept her eyes shut so no tears would come from them, but she could still hear the yelling from somewhere in the area. Slowly opening them she looked up in front of her and could see her friends fighting against the guards, obviously angry. A small smile came across her face, they had witnessed her basically massacre all these people yet they still fought for her.

"And yet you're still smiling." The redhead next to her growled. He looked up and motioned with his hand. "Get them out of here." The group of teenagers were shoved out of the room unwillingly, back to their cells as the man started to circle her.

"Why won't you break." He was talking to himself, and the rest of the people still in the crowd just watched. "Why won't you just collapse and give in."

"Because." She breathed, clutching her bleeding arms, glad the bullet had just gone straight through. "Defeat is unacceptable."

A mocking laugh came from him. "Oh really? Hear that boys! Defeat is unacceptable." More laughing, just from larger numbers.

The large double doors swung open with amazing force, slamming into the walls and leaving the hinges just barely hanging on. Everyone except Sage turned towards it, the teen opting for just looking ahead at the ground and keeping pressure on her wound. The Leader looked over at the man who had entered. "Who the hell are you?"

He stayed silent, and it was noted how the large black cloak that fell around him obscured all features, the hood keeping his face hidden. "Hey, asshole. I asked who you-" As he walked into distance a hand shot out and grabbed him by the upper arm, taking him and throwing him at least fifteen feet to the left. The redhead landed harshly, his back slamming into the concrete, but that wasn't what had him in pain.

He screamed as it felt like his arm was being pulled apart, and ripped his sleeve off in a useless attempt to get rid of the pain. He and the other onlookers stared in horror as the flesh of his arm seemed to almost melt off like a steady stream, the Leader's screams still filling the space. When the flesh was gone, the muscle came next, and started to peel back from the bone, the blood escaping it's confines now that the flesh was no longer there to hold it back. It didn't take long before the dark magic started to work it's way to the rest of the body, crawling across the torso and up his neck, where his screams quickly died. The gang members ran for it by then, fighting to get to the exit before the same fate could befall them.

The hooded figure walked towards the center of the arena, where Sage was slowly getting up and turning around to look at him, her face blank. When she couldn't see his face she frowned slightly, but took both daggers out anyway, her wound not bleeding as badly as before. Like she had thought, since no bones or arteries were hit, it only hurt to move, but that didn't mean she couldn't do it. "Who are you." She asked, the most obvious question.

A low and dark chuckle came from the figure. "Now that's just rude. I thought I taught you better than that."

Sage's look turned quizzical. "What are you-" A strong hand came up and ripped the cloak off.

The elegant and bloody daggers clattered to the floor, Sage's blood running cold.

"No." She whispered, taking an unsteady step back. "You're dead!" Another chuckle answered her, and she had to do everything in her to keep from screaming.

"Now is that anyway to greet your father." His deep voice said, green eyes staring at her savagely.


	15. True Hatred

_It's the closing of the curtain  
__In the play that was my life  
__Countless chapters left unopened  
__Tragedies inside  
__I was fighting for a reason  
__Holy Blessed homicide  
__Seems I have committed treason  
__All I've sacrificed_

_Led to nothing  
__Repeated in my mind  
__Led to nothing  
__If only I was born another time_

_Hell is still overburdened  
__I must stand and wait in line  
__Hell is still overburdened  
__How I have been so determined malign?  
__Hell is still overburdened  
__I must stand and wait in line  
__Hell is still overburdened  
__How I have been so determined malign?_

"You're not real." She whispered. "You're dead. I saw you die myself." Sage's mind must have been playing tricks on her. No actual rest paired with the pain and torture she had been going through must have made her snap, there could be no other explanation.

But apparently her 'hallucination' did think so. "Yes, I did die." Well that explains she hadn't gone blind around that time. "But I came back."

"Impossible." She growled. "No one can come back from the dead." He hadn't moved at all, and she stood her ground as well.

"You'd be surprised at how the heart can effect a persons outcome in the afterlife." He still had that sick grin on his face.

"What the hell are you talking about."

"Why, surely you've been paying attention in her magic class." He replied, slowing walking towards her. Unconsciously she took a step back. "Ever heard of the Japanese meaning for ghost? Simple put, if a person dies with enough remorse or hatred in them, their 'spirit' lives on in the world."

"So what, you're a ghost of a person that died realizing his life sucked?"

A chuckle. "No, no ghost, I never believed in such things. I was just using their example. You see, my darkness in my heart-" At this he gestured to the appropriate area in his chest. "Has allowed me to shed my physical form, and instead live like this."

"I don't see any difference." She said, her back now against a wall.

"Then let me show you." She was to slow to dodge it. Suddenly a ball of darkness appeared in his hand and almost like a baseball he threw it. The attack struck her in the chest and she was driven into the wall, creating a two foot crater around her. Pain exploded throughout Sage's body, and she held back a whimper. "Ah, yes. That pain you feel, you'll notice it's not just physical, but mental, another wonderful perk."

"What are you talking about." Her voice was horse and she had a hard time keeping her eyes open.

"This power, it allows me to force emotional pain as well." Sage somewhat understood, but she didn't comment.

"What do you want." She finally asked.

"You're suffering." Another dark bolt was already in his hand.

XXXXXX

"I can't believe he shot her." Sora mumbled into his hands, which were currently covering his bowed head.

Kairi rubbed his shoulder with one hand in a comforting gesture but said nothing. She glanced up at Riku and saw he looked grim, giving a small smile that felt out of place.

Tyler had his legs stretched out in front of him and back against the wall, his head resting on Denise's shoulder as her one hand wrapped around his shoulder and played with his hair, his eyes closed as she did the gesture. Jason had one leg stretched out while the other was brought up and had an arm resting on it, staring at the floor in thought. Namine and Roxas were in the same cell as Kairi and the others, just as solemn as the rest.

It was probably around three in the morning, but known could find sleep. When they heard running footsteps coming to the door a voice quickly entered. "Guys! The Leader! He's dead!"

"What! How?"

"Some guy, with freaky magic. He literally melted his flesh off! After that everyone bailed."

"That's impossible. Man, you must have had to much to drink or something. "The second guard was talking now.

"I'm not joking! No doubt he's killed the Sage chick too." Jason's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. "The whole place is freaking out."

"Man, like I said, way to much to drink-" The door crashed open.

It was almost like an explosion went off, showering metal bits everywhere. Three dead gang bodies were displayed across the floor in the cell as everyone covered their heads while the dust started to settle.

Jason stood up quickly, making sure the others were behind him before searching through the dust. What he saw was the last thing he expected.

Sage coughed some and rolled onto her side, trying to push herself up. It was slow work, but after a minute she did so, and of course there to knock her back down was her father. She breathed heavily as he walked up to her before taking her by the neck and lifting her up, a good foot off the ground. She grasped his arm in a futile attempt to make him let go, but there was just no strength left in her. He smirked. "What happened to that fight in you that I saw just a few hours ago?"

She didn't answer, she was loosing breath before he decided to give mercy, in his own twisted way, by taking her and throwing her straight at the cell, her body slamming into it and bending the bars inward, but not breaking them. Sage gasped in pain as she fell to the ground, landing on her knees.

Jason had to step back to avoid the bars smashing into him, but quickly found himself rushing over to grab Sage through the bars and by the shoulders. "Sage. Are you alright?" He asked quietly, worry lacing his tone.

Either she didn't hear him, or she couldn't focus enough to tell who was talking, but the man in front of her answered for her. "Well well well Sage, looks like it's those rodent friend's of yours from all those years ago." She winced at this, but said nothing. "I'm surprised they still hang out with you, after finding out what you did."

"Shut up." She growled, and Jason could hear the fight coming back in her voice.

"What's this, never told them? Why Sage, didn't anyone teach you that keeping secrets was wrong?"

"Secrets keep the world going." She replied, forcing herself to stand back up, leaning heavily on the bars next to her. He must have been having a second spell going with his attacks to keep her alive, or else she would no doubt be dead by now.

"And when did you learn this?" He inquired.

"When I realized they would keep me alive." She stared at him blankly.

"But they also make life more challenging, didn't you say you enjoy challenges? Well how about a new one?" She was wondering where he was getting at. "Here it is: Keeping your friends after they realize the things you've truly done."

Her eyes widened in realization. "No!" But it was to late, it was then that she found out the extent of his powers.

The entire room seemed to fade, any color it might have held just dulling to a gray. Shadow's seemed to swirl at the corners as well, giving the place an almost haunted look. "Riku." Sage gasped. "Remember that shield spell Mr. Ansem taught us?"

"Way ahead of you." He grunted, eyes closed in concentration. Seconds later the spell took affect. Ansem had taught them how to defend against one person's darkness with your own, creating almost a safety shield around yourself and others. It took him some more effort because of the extended group, but the pressure that had been weighing down on them like a thick air lightening considerably, and they felt like they could breath again. Denise thanked Riku and he just nodded tiredly. _Don't know how long this can last though._ Everyone had a limit, and he had yet to figure out his.

When her father continued to add to the spell she turned and beckoned Riku over. He came over and knelt down behind the bars close to where she sat. "First time for everything." She muttered, grasping his shoulder and closing her eyes.

Both winced as she cast the spell, and he could feel what little of her power she had left transfer to him. The others didn't know that the exchange was going on, but they could feel Riku's spell solidify and the normal atmosphere around them return, along with the color, but saw that where his barriers ended, the darker magic kicked in.

Finally Sage let go and both bodies went limp, their muscles unclench. "Why'd you do that." He breathed, leaning on the bars. "You could have died." It was true, a person's being was tied to their magic because it was basically a part of them.

"So that way you guys won't be hurt." She mumbled. "Now shut up and get back." He pushed himself up and Sora helped him get back to the wall.

"Shall we take a trip down memory lane?" The dark man finally said. They watched at the scene around them started to change, and the cell around them faded to that of what looked like the inside of a home. Sage was on the outside of the barrier, so she was currently sitting in the kitchen against the cabinets. Her father was standing next to her, arms crossed and staring smugly at the area while her friends seemed to watch it almost like a movie.

"Riku, can you get the shield around Sage?" Tyler asked, watching as his friend looked like she had an immense weight weighing her down.

But the silver haired teenager shook his head. "There's something in his magic that's targeting her specifically. Even with a couple darkness wielders we wouldn't be able to cut through it to help her." The brunette nodded regretfully.

Sage stared at the kitchen with loathing, hating the memories it brought, some happy, most sad and regretful. "Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" Her dearest father said, grinning.

*.*.*.*.*.*

A person entered the scene, and Sage's hands clenched into fists. Beautiful and unique white hair falling like waves around her shoulders and bright gray eyes shining, she was tall and slim, but her fiery soul seemed to shine through. A long white dress flowed as the straps crossed over her back and exposed her sharp shoulder blades, while the rest seemed to fall from her waist and flowed behind her as she walked. "I'm home." Her voice was cheery and seemed to almost float throughout the house.

"Mommy!" A small girl with short black hair and two white stripes framing her face fell around her straight. Gray eyes that still held innocence shined in childish joy as she ran up to the woman, who scooped up her petite form in a tight hug. Sage, age four, when life was still simple.

"There's my little bundle of fun." She teased, and the child giggled.

"Mommy! Guess what I made for Daddy for his birthday." The excitement bubbled on her face and stood out in her voice.

"And what's that?" The small child wiggled out of her arms and ran down the hallway, disappearing for a moment before coming back with a paper in her hand. "See!" The woman looked at the picture and smiled. "That's Daddy, that's you, and here's me! We're at the park he'll take us to for lunch!"

"And who's this little rascal in the corner?" She asked playfully.

"Our future dog!" She chirped. Sage's mother laughed as her child explained. "Maybe if he likes the picture enough, he'll want to make it happen in real life, so maybe he'll buy one!"

"That's a very good plan Sage." Her mother said. "Now go hide the picture and let's get started on his cake." Right as she finished the sentence the door opened up.

"Hi Daddy." Sage cheered, running up to the man. His raven black hair was covered in dust, as was his whole outfit that showed off his well built body. Green eyes went from exhausted to happiness when the small child ran up to him. Ignoring the dirt and grime, he picked the child up and she giggled as he spun her around in the air.

"Hey there kiddo. How was you're day?" His voice was deep and could be intimidating when he wanted it to.

"Full of awesomeness!" He chuckled.

"Awesomeness? Is that a word?"

Sage nodded firmly. "Yes, it is. I even looked it up."

"Ok then, if you say so." He said, holding her close to him now as his wife came over.

"Welcome home honey." She said, giving him a soft kiss.

"Thanks for the warm welcome." He said with a smile as the picture was shoved into his face by Sage.

"Happy birthday!" She said cheerfully.

"Why thank you Sage, it's beautiful. But what's the brown one?"

"A dog." She said with a giggle.

"Why is there a dog in the picture?"

"So I can ask this. Daddy, can we get a dog for your birthday." He glanced over at his wife who hid a giggle behind her hand before a laugh escaped him as well. Sage looked between the two people, honest confusion on her face. "What did I say?"

*.*.*.*.*.*

Sage kept her face emotionless as the scene faded out and only blackness took it's place. "Good times, eh Sage?" She looked up at him with a blank expression. "Now come on, you have to admit, we had some good times."

"Yeah." She whispered, looking back as the scene shifted. "We did."


	16. Trip Down Memory Lane

_The silence keeps it easy  
__keeps you safe for the moment.  
__As you're walking away  
__your foot steps get louder.  
__All you needed was time  
__but now time will destroy us._

_It will all be over and here we are  
__we're stuck inside this salted earth together.  
__You'll pierce my lungs  
__my limbs go numb  
__as my colors fade out_

_You watch me bleed.  
__You watch me bleed._

*.*.*.*.*.*

A few months later Sage had gotten the stomach flu, and it had resulted in her spending the day in bed tired but not really wanting to go to sleep. The small child let out a long sigh, her hands behind her head as she stared at the ceiling of her small, but comfortable, room. When she finally heard the door open, she perked up some, and against her mother's orders, slipped out of bed, her small feet silently hitting the floor as she cracked her door open, ignoring the slight haziness of her mind.

When she looked down the hallway towards the front door she smiled when she saw her father there, and opened it up wider to slip through and lightly run to greet him. He smiled softly when he saw his daughter, but it turned into a frown when he saw how red she was. "What's wrong kiddo?" He asked, picking her up gently.

"I don't feel good." She replied. "And mommy won't let me play."

"Did she say what you have?"

"Stomach flu?" she said, thinking it was the right one as he started to carry her back to her room.

"Well that's not good." At that moment her mother walked out of the room, holding a stack of towels.

"Sage, I told you to stay in your room." She chided.

"But it's so boring." She whined, a pout coming across her face.

"You need to rest if you want to feel better. Now go lay down and get some sleep."

"But-"

"No buts, now go." Their daughter still pouted so Sage's father nodded to his wife and walked into her room.

"How about a deal?" He offered.

Sage perked up. "I'm listening." She sang, a grin on her face. He chuckled.

"I'll read you a story, but then you have to go to bed. Deal?" She quickly nodded and he set her down on the bed, where she climbed under the covers but stayed sitting up. "So what do you want to read."

"The Sorcerers Apprentice!" She said excitedly.

"Haven't we read that a hundred times already?"

"Yes, but it's the best, so we read it again." She said it like it was final.

"Alright, alright." He grabbed the Disney book that was among the others on the small shelf and pulled up the chair next to her bed. "Let's get started."

Sitting there, covered in dirt from a day at the construction zone, he read the book in one of his most calming tones, glancing up every now and then to see his daughter trying to stay awake. About a third to the end she finally gave up, and he watched for a moment as she curled up under the sheets with her hair splayed across the pillow.

"Night kiddo." He planted a small kiss on her forehead and got up, leaving the book on the chair as he crept out of her room, closing the door softly behind him.

"She asleep?" Her mother asked gently.

"Yeah." He replied, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. "So, how was your day?"

"I was in the house all day with a sick Sage. You know her, how do you think it was?"

He chuckled softly. "Alright, alright. I get it."

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

January 15th, Sage's fifth birthday, and also the day that their family started falling apart. She didn't know why they were fighting, and when she had asked what was wrong her father had snapped at her and her mother sent her to her room. She had obeyed, but had decided to stay close to the door, ear pressed against it and trying to decipher what they were saying. After deciding she could understand anything she finally just crawled onto her bed and sat in the corner, grabbing her favorite stuffed dog and holding it tight against her chest. Not once had she seen them this angry, and to be honest, it scared her.

The yelling grew more intense, and the dog was clutched tighter to her while she squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to think of things to take her mind off the fighting, but it wasn't enough, so she took it a step further, and started singing one of the songs her mother had taught her. When she found her in the kitchen one day humming, she had asked what song it was. The older woman replied the band Plain White T's, which Sage had laughed at, but quieted down to listen to the woman sing a few lines. Sage had quickly caught on, and could see how her mom liked the song.

"There's only one thing to do.

Three words for you." She sang softly, getting lost in the lyrics.

"I love you." A shout rose above the rest, and she winced, but continued on.

"There's only one way to say

Those three words and that's what I'll do. I love you." She smiled some when she remembered how her mom had said the song made her think of her dad, and had explained why. Sage had giggled.

"_So, you really really really like Daddy?"_

_Her mother nodded. "I really really really like Daddy." She confirmed with a smile. _

The yelling had stopped, and she ceased speaking and watched as the door opened up to reveal her mother, who gave her a small smile, but it seemed sadder to Sage. "Hey honey."

She didn't say anything, just watched as the woman walked up to her and sat down. "I'm sorry, you're Daddy and I just had a little disagreement."

"Is everything OK?" She asked quietly.

"Of course. In fact, right now he's running to the store to get us some food for tonight. Can't make a cake without frosting, now can we?"

Sage smiled some, "Nope." They had stopped fighting, things were going to be alright.

Of course, she was still young, and still had to learn that things never healed up like that.

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

"No!" Her mother yelled. "I don't know what you're thinking but you can't just come home and have a couple drinks when you're daughter is in the house."

"I don't give a damn if she's in the house or not! I don't beat her, and I don't yell at her, I have everything under control!" He growled, staring at his wife who currently stood between him and the fridge.

"James." She only used his name when she was serious. "This is getting out of control. Even Sage has been noticing your lack of being here."

"What do you mean." He scoffed. "I have been here, have been for the past eight years."

"No, you're here, but at the same time you're not. You've been more withdrawn lately. Sage misses her father, and I miss my husband."

"Katrina. It's fine. Work has just been getting pretty rough lately. I promise, things will be better once this contract is finished."

She looked uncertain, but nodded. "Just try to hang in there for Sage, OK?"

He nodded and gave her a smile. "Sure thing."

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

A couple months later Katrina died, having been stabbed in the stomach. Sage had been told that she had just been sick, but as she got older she quickly understood this was a lie, and that it was murder, not a natural death. Police couldn't tie it to her father, and once she had learned the truth about it she knew she could just waltz in and say he had done it, but she had vowed to make him pay. So four years later the time came. Throughout those years she had experienced beatings both mentally and physically, and had also experienced the pain of feeling pure hatred from someone who had once shown her the true love of a father. The beatings she grew accustomed too, but every now and then his harsh words still struck her hard and she would find herself crying to sleep at night.

It only figured that the die he died, would be the day of her ninth birthday. The day everything started, was also the die it ended.

He had been drunker than normal, which surprised her, because she didn't think he could get any more than what he already was. Leave it to him to once again prove her wrong on the matter. The rain beat down on the rooftop as the thunderstorm outside tore at Twilight Town, engulfing everything. The trees near the house whipped at the window as she laid on her bed, back against the wall as she sharped her daggers with a sharpening stone. They had been a birthday gift from Sensei Ogatami, and they were the one thing that she had made sure that were always in excellent shape.

Even with the outside world already making up most of the sounds that rang throughout the house, the one of the door slamming open then proceeding to be shut just as hard still vibrated out of the area. Sage rolled her eyes and continued the calming motion of moving the stone back and forth along the edges of the blade, the lightening illuminating it every now and then with each flash.

"Sage!" It was amazing how the weather just fit so perfectly with the atmosphere in the house.

"What!" She yelled, a little annoyed he was interrupting her.

The door crashed open and he stumbled in. "That's it! You're behavior is unacceptable!" His speech was starting to slur, but his meaning was clear, though him leaning against the door frame took away any seriousness he hoped to have.

"Go on." She said in a bored tone, still sharpening her weapon.

"That is what I'm talking about." A hiccup escaped him and she smirked. "You think you can waltz around doing whatever you want, with absolutely no consequences."

"I'm listening." She said with mock respect, and grinned when he started fuming.

"Now you listen here young lady." She raised an eyebrow at this. Nine years old and a young lady, she's been promoted.

"No thank you." She politely declined. "I'd rather not." That set him over the edge.

In his drunken state he charged her, just flat out charged her. Sage rolled off the bed, daggers tucked safely away as she landed and jumped up, blades held defensively. She contributed his actions to the alcohol, nothing more.

Little did she know that the more sane part of him was cheering his actions on. He grinned savagely, and Sage's eye widened some as he pulled a small dagger out as well. "James." She said with warning in her tone. "Drop the knife."

"It's time to teach you the meaning of respect." The dagger came down and she barely dodged to the side in time, taking a couple steps back. Ogatami had taught her to only fight when her life depended on it, she decided to give him a couple of minutes. He lumbered towards her and she couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated as she looked up at the large man. One hand, the one with the dagger, came at her from the the right while his other came from the left, and she had no choice to jump back, but his weapon still clipped her shoulder.

She winced as she got a decent distance away and looked down, seeing the blood starting to work it's way out from the wound. Glancing up, she saw his eyes had officially turned crazed, and she made a decision.

Her life depended on it.

With a cry she came at him, dodging his fist and running past his side while dragging her weapon along, hearing him yell as it cleanly cut through his flesh. She stopped right behind him and dropped down spinning on the spot and bringing her second dagger in a horizontal swipe, cutting into the back of his knees.

A stream of curses now flying from his lips, he turned quickly and she was thrown to the side as his fist connected with her head, feeling the room spin briefly but pushing herself up nevertheless. Defeat was unacceptable, because in this situation, it meant death. Feeling something warm trickle down her head she gingerly reached up and touched a part of of her head just over her ear, feeling the indent and pulling it away to see the crimson on it. She looked up and saw his wedding ring had blood smeared on it.

She ducked as the dagger embedded itself into the wall above her and his hand ripped it back out, the other catching her around the neck and slowly bringing her up against the wall. She gasped and struggled to get out of his grip, watching in horror as his weapon came up. "I'll take care of you just like I took care of your mother." He growled.

She had no clue why, but that statement angered her. "She didn't need to be taken care of." She growled, using her remaining breath to let him know. Her hand moved immediately, and before she had time to stop the action.

James' eyes widened as the blade made the move in seemingly a fraction of a second. Slowly his grip relinquished and Sage dropped hard to the ground, coughing hard and feeling some blood drizzle down the corner of her mouth. The larger man stumbled back, hand gripping his throat and the blood escaping between the cracks in his fingers.

"It's all...you're fault." Those were his final words to her before his body dropped heavily to the ground, blood staining the floor, just as her mother's had.

"For this, I'll gladly own up to." She replied softly, just sitting there and staring at the body.

XXXXXX

It was nearing midnight, and Ogatami was just now getting ready for bed. He had short brown hair that was lightly spiked in it's army cut while hit unique red eyes helped guide him to his destination. His body was extremely fit for a forty year old, an advantage from teaching fighting for the past twenty five years, he also had the scars to prove it. Thunder crashed and the lightening illuminated the room briefly, so it wasn't until there was a break in it's majestic display that he actually heard it.

The knocking was extremely faint, and he he seriously questioned the sanity of the person as he walked to the door. When he looked through the hole he didn't see anyone, so turned to head back to his room when the knocking repeated itself. This time he ignored the hole and just opened the door, surprise flicking across his face to see Sage standing there, with her arms hanging limply at her side while her daggers rested in their sheaths at her waist. Her hair clung to face as she looked up at him, first greeting him with a proper bow. "May I come in Sensei?"

"Of course." He stepped aside and she came in, water dripping in her wake.

"My apologies for the intrusion." Sage was always formal with him, but this was the first time she had sounded so...emotionless.

"Is there a problem Sage?" It was then he noticed the cut on her shoulder, the surrounding clothing being stained with the blood, and the small amount that surrounded her mouth and ran down her neck. "Did something happen at home?" He examined her shoulder room, and deducted it came from a knife.

"Sir, I did something that I should feel awful for, but I don't, is that wrong?"

Then immediately it came to him as she pulled her daggers out, the blood dried on them. "He attacked me, after the first cut I decided my life depended on it." She whispered, looking up at him, hoping, praying that he wouldn't turn her away.

"Come on kiddo." Her eyes widened at the nickname, "let's get you cleaned up."

She nodded meekly and followed him to the bathroom. A good twenty minutes later she was lying on his bed and curled up under the covers, sleep quickly overtaking her. And that night, was the first night in a long while that she slept without fear.


	17. Embracing the Change

**Sorry the last two chapters weren't the best, kinda rushed. This is the chapter before the finale, which I'm going to have fun with. So only a few more to go. Already have another story in mind. But thanks for reading, and thanks for the reviews. They come in handy because I try out things in this story and if they get good reception, I end up using the tricks in my main book. Hope you enjoy.  
-Shadoword**

_Been given 24 hours  
__to tie up loose ends  
__to make amends  
__His eyes said it all  
__I started to fall  
__and the silence deafened  
__Head spinning round  
__no time to sit down  
__just wanted to  
__run and run and run  
__Be careful they say  
__don't wish life away,  
__now I've one day_

_And I can't believe  
__How I've been wasting my time  
__  
In 24 hours they'll be  
__laying flowers  
__on my life, it's over tonight  
__I'm not messing no I  
__need your blessing  
__and your promise to live free  
__please do it for me_

He was enjoying this to the point it should be illegal. She was cracking, piece by single piece, and he was the one causing it. After the second memory she didn't even bother trying to keep a straight face, and silently the tears started to run down her cheeks. She didn't whine, she didn't shriek, just silently watched as the once happy days started to disintegrate and were replaced by the ones he enjoyed, drinking away problems at the bar and coming home to do what he called anger management. It worked for him.

When he showed her the one of his death, he dropped the spell and looked down at Sage. She still looked ahead like something was there. Her friends had been silent the whole time, almost gawking, and he had to admit it was amusing. Even if they decide to even look at her after this even, then that wouldn't happen, she'd be dead anyways.

"Did I tell you why I killed your mother?" James asked, walked forward some before turning around to look at her, arms crossed over his chest.

She just looked up at him and didn't respond. "Did you know, she planned on leaving me." This got a reaction, her eyes widened some. "It's true. She wanted to leave the wonderful life we had, and wanted to take you with her. She actually came home to grab you and take you away with her, but I couldn't let that happen. After all, you were _my_ child too. And you would never want to leave your father, would you?"

"After that day, you lost the right of that title." She said in a monotone.

"Ah, is that so?" He chuckled, having to much fun with this. He reached his arm out and she didn't even gasp as darkness surrounded her, pinning her arms to her body and slowly lifting her up, but she didn't struggle.

"Now I get to repay you for all the pain I had to go through alive _and_ dead. I'll tell you, darkness is not fun living in, but I'm sure you'll find out for yourself soon enough."

She looked at him, and he saw it, she finally snapped. They were dead, a large void, filled with nothing, absolutely nothing.

Another chuckle.

She had finally broken.

XXXXXX

She was done. There would be no point in even trying to fight, even if she did somehow win, which would be one impossibly long shot, nothing would be worth it afterwords. Her friends, the people she would easily give her life for and still would, would never be able to talk to her, a murderer, again. Did that change the fact that she cared for them, no, not even close. But she highly doubt they still felt that way too.

When the darkness wrapped around her, it was almost comforting. I brought the hope that it would be over soon. Sure, James' would have fun practically torturing her and would make sure to keep her alive to feel that pain for as long as possible, but it didn't surprise her, and she would just take it, there was nothing else to do. Beg for mercy? Not even an option. She may be screwed, but she refused to give him that pleasure.

"Now I get to repay you for all the pain I had to go through alive _and_ dead. I'll tell you, darkness is not fun living in, but I'm sure you'll find out for yourself soon enough." She didn't doubt him. She was slightly startled when a voice suddenly snapped, and it wasn't his.

"Don't you dare touch her you evil bastard!" Tyler was known for being energetic, and he definitely wasn't holding back now.

James' smirked and looked over at Tyler, who was now as close as the bars would let him to Sage. "Oh? And why not? As they say, revenge is sweet. I would like to test this." The shadows constricted some and the girl grunted.

"Let her go!" Denise was now yelling at him.

"No." He replied simply. She knew why Jason hadn't spoke. If he did, no doubt he would loose it, and he had to stay strong for the other two, something she inwardly thanked him for.

"So what would you do afterwords?" She tilted her head to the side slightly, not bothering to try to look over her shoulder. Riku spoke calmly, but it was forced.

James just shrugged. "Haven't thought about that yet, I'm sure I'll be able to get another good couple hours of fun with you guys to play hide and go seek with."

Sage's head snapped up, and she looked at him. "You wouldn't..." She whispered.

He grinned. "And why not?"

"Don't you dare." She growled. Any previous thoughts left her. She couldn't die knowing they would be harmed, more importantly harmed because of her.

"I think I would, at least they would be more lively..."

"Don't you dare!" She roared, struggling against the darkness that bound her. "You touch them I swear I'll send you back to the hell that made the mistake of letting you out!"

"And how do you suppose you're going to do that? I told you, I'm completely made of darkness, no physical weapon can harm me."

She glared at him. Of course he was right, when he wanted to be he wasn't a complete idiot. There was nothing she could do.

Her anger was growing inside of her, she could feel it. She was angry that she had let this happen in the first place. She was depressed that her friends would pay the mistake for her actions, and she regretted not ever having a normal, at least decent, childhood. It wasn't fair, and never had been.

It had a firm hold now, and she could feel her hatred helping to fuel it, the growing darkness. She loved the way it felt, almost as if fire was running through her veins. James was having fun terrorizing them now with promises of the pain he'd later bring, of course after he had taken care of her.

But she wasn't going to even give him the option.

XXXXXX

Jason knew something was wrong. Obviously their situation wasn't something you'd see every day, but Sage had grew silent, and the atmosphere seemed to be shifting. They were still protected by Riku's spell, thankfully, and the shadows still lurked at the corners of the area outside the protected barrier.

The shadow's around Sage grew darker, almost as if pure blackness was starting to fuse with them. He instinctively grabbed Tyler and Denise by the shoulders, pulling them back behind him. He looked over at Riku who was studying Sage carefully, before his eyes widened and he pulled the two girls into the farthest corner, motioning for the other two to follow as well. He looked at Jason and they both shared the silent message. Something was happening, and it was likely it wouldn't be good.

"I won't let you." Sage whispered, her head bowed and hair obscuring any views from the side.

"And how do you suppose you'll do that?" He asked, smirk still lingering.

Sage's head came up, and Riku could see from this angle she was scarily pale. "I'll kill you first."

XXXXXX

It felt good, she felt powerful again, and wasn't stuck in the weak shell that had been present just a moment ago. It was pitiful, embarrassing, to be stuck in such a form. But the girl had given in, given in the power that _she_ offered. She was the one that did the killing, not Sage. She was the darkness that the girl used to finish the acts, she wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for her. And now she was going to be sitting in the backseat while she came out to do what she did best, bring the hell.

At first James just laughed, but immediately it cut off and he growled a curse when he had to pull back his own attack around Sage, feeling as though some type of dark energy was channeling through his own. "What the-"

Sage dropped down into a kneeling position before slowly rising, taking her time. The energy around her wasn't the same, it was more powerful, and he could literally _feel _the anger and hatred that fueled it. She didn't look the same either.

Her black hair was now longer and fell to her mid-back, the white streaks that normally framed her face were loosely tied back by a large clip. Her skin was deathly pale but she looked a lot healthier at the same time, like she actually had energy to put up a fight. Instead of her original outfit, she now had on this long black skirt with a slit up the right side of her leg, and underneath her the same colored pair of skin-tight shorts. She had on a dark gray t-shirt that cut off at the shoulders, and also exposed a few inches of her flat stomach. A black armband was tied around her upper left arm, about a foot of extra cloth hanging loosely from the knot that finished it. Finally large black army boots covered her feet.

Sage slowly lifted her gaze, and he could see that the gray eyes were now surrounded by a solid ring of pure black. She grinned at him, and it was almost feline like, almost like a hunter.

She held out her hand in front of her, and he watched in awe as the dark shadows started to gather around a central area before slowly stretching out and then solidifying. The scythe was large, something that probably could have been the size of about double that of Sage. The handle was a pure silver that had black clouding into it. The blade itself was at least three and a half feet, while it looked like it harbored darkness itself. Finally at the bottom was what really caught everyone's attention. Sage's two daggers that her Sensei Ogatami had crafted specifically for her seemed to be levitating, rotating a few inches away from the bottom of the scythe as the metal pointed away from the rest of the weapon, almost making it into the perfect ending spear.

Her mind wasn't hers anymore, it was engulfed solely on protecting those she cared for. At this moment she had no clue who they were, but she knew for sure that he wasn't one of them, he was the threat. A small chuckle escaped her. This was going to be fun.

"Think a little change in wardrobe is going to help you?" James growled. Darkness engulfed his hand before he let out a loud roar, charging her and bringing his arm down, his attack striking her head on. The darkness exploded into a large mass, taking up almost the entire surround twenty feet of the cells except for the other teenager's protection, and a thump could be heard. He grinned and waited for the shadows to fade back and to see his handiwork.

That grin slowly dropped as they did fade, but did not reveal what he wanted. Sage stood there, unharmed, scythe planted firmly in front of her, the daggers no longer revolving as they were planted into the ground and almost seemed to be keeping the large weapon in place. She looked up and tilted her head slightly, her hair moving with the gesture as she looked at him. "Shall we?" Almost with no effort at all she ripped the scythe out of the ground and swung the large weapon over her head with one hand, using the momentum to her advantage as she brought it down hard, the blade of the scythe slamming into the ground with tremendous force. The black arc of the blade seemed to almost carry on as the spell carried across in a large setting, and directly striking a fuming James.

A yell could be heard as the attack engulfed him before disappearing suddenly, and revealed him on his knees, arms limply at his side as he breathed heavily. He glanced up at her and growled something before closing his eyes and he was engulfed by the shadows, slowly fading out until the space he had been in was now empty. Sage knew better, he was going to regroup, come up with a back up plan. He wasn't gone, and wouldn't go down without a fight.

She turned around and looked at the people behind the bars of the cells, studying them carefully. Silence filled the area for a moment as they returned the act, before she spoke, her voice sounding somewhat unnatural. "You are the ones she wants to protect."

"What are you talking about?" Kairi asked. The girl seemed to radiate the power of light, almost like she bathed in it. Sage frowned slightly, it was annoying.

"Kairi." Now the silver haired boy, that was another story. He seemed like he had lived in darkness in years, and still had control over it. That was someone she could like. "Stay back."

"Might want to listen to him." Sage agreed, nodding her head slightly. She grinned and brought the scythe around, letting a yell rip from her throat as it sliced through the bars almost as if they were air. The bars were ripped from their places and clattered to the ground, bringing the freedom.

"What happened to Sage?" Denise asked quietly, staring the girl in front of her. It was Sage, but at the same time, it wasn't.

"She's taking a breather for a bit. So I'm helping her out." She grinned and Denise turned thoughtful.

Kairi stepped forward and Sage made a face, stepping back as her energy faintly teased the edge of her darkness. It wasn't painful, but definitely uncomfortable. She had no clue why Sage would be friends with someone like her, and the blond haired girl for that matter. Riku grabbed Kairi and pulled her back. "You have the power of light, to wielders of darkness at a certain level like Sage, it could turn lethal if the presence was powerful enough."

Kairi's eyes widened at this. "Oh." She said quietly, then gave a quiet apology to Sage before taking a step back, the nuisance disappearing.

A loud explosion rocked the building, the sound coming somewhere from the south of their position. Sage looked over her shoulder and grinned, reaching out mentally and feeling the anger just radiating off the source. She chuckled, the grin growing. "You should head off, I have some business to attend to." She looked back and gave a dramatic bow. "Until next time friends of Sage." The darkness shot up from the ground and swallowed the bowing form, disappearing seconds later.


	18. Cutting Loose the Past

_Is there a heaven a hell  
__and will I come back  
__who can tell  
__Now I can see  
__what matters to me  
__it's as clear as crystal  
__The places I've been  
__the people I've seen  
__plans that I made  
__start to fade  
__The sun's setting gold  
__thought I would grow old,  
__it wasn't to be_

_And I can't believe  
__How I've been wasting my time_

_In 18 hours they'll be  
__laying flowers  
__on my life, it's over tonight  
__I'm not messing no I  
__need your blessing  
__and your promise to live free  
__please do it for me_

Seconds after 'Sage' disappeared, Jason reeled on Riku. "Explanation. Now." The silver haired teen had everyone looking at him, and he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Currently instead of Sage being in control, it's more like her darker half is. That's as simple as I can put it."

"Where did this darker half even come from?" Tyler asked.

"Ok, try to think of it this way. Sage's heart is completely hers, but a portion of it holds all the anger and hatred for her father and apparently her past. So whenever Sage kills someone, she can only carry out the act because that hatred is what allows her carry out the act. If it wasn't there, she would be able to do it. So now, she basically gave in to that darkness, let it consume her, so she could use it's full advantage."

"But, then why is there another person controlling Sage?" Kairi asked.

"There isn't. It's still Sage, but think of it as her other half, the one that kills and over the years grew used to it. The way she is right now, it's almost like she switched with the same person she's kept locked up all these years."

Jason was taking in this information. Riku shared the same darkness class with her, had experience with the matter, so he was taking his word for it. "Is there any way to snap her out of it."

"That's the thing." Riku explained, and paused for a minute to figure out what to say. "Sage didn't loose control, she willingly gave in. So Sage could drop it right now if she wanted to-"

"She never would until she knows he's dead." Denise said quietly. "So is there anything we can do to help keep her safe?"

Riku glanced at Jason then answered, still looking at the blond. "No. While in that form any wounds she gains from fighting should heal up pretty quick."

It was quiet for a moment. "Riku, what are you holding back?" Sora asked quietly.

"If she stays in the form long enough, it could kill her. Even if you've mastered darkness, unless you went to extreme measures, you can only stay in the realm for so long." Denise's hand shot to her mouth, her eyes wide with fear. Tyler groaned and shook his head, almost like it would clear the bad news from his memory.

"Are you sure?" Jason asked. Riku nodded slowly, gauging his reaction. The next few minutes were quiet as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, still hanging out in the cells as they thought everything over.

Finally, it was broken. "Alright." Jason pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. "Sage is off fighting and I highly doubt she'll loose, but I'm not as confident that she won't stay in that form in a short enough time to live." He glanced at Roxas. "You're going to take the three girls out of the warehouse, seeing as you know how to fight and summon a weapon. Sora, Tyler, you two will go ahead and highjack the vans so we can drive out of here. Riku, currently you know the most about Sage's position. You're coming with me. We can't help her fight, but when she wins we can help her snap out of it in time."

He could see a few people were about to debate, mostly the girls. But after a look from Riku at his friends and Jason sending one of his own to his, they stayed silent, and grimly nodded. "You guys still remember the layout of this place?" Riku asked.

"Like the back of my hand." Roxas said, his face grim. "We'll come with you guys and split at the exit. But how do you plan on getting the vans if the keys aren't with them?"

At this Jason chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Sage and I have worked on cars for years, these two know how to highjack cars with no problems and in record time."

Denise smiled some while Tyler laughed, the mood lightening considerably. "You guys have weird hobbies." Sora said, shaking his head while smiling.

"Yeah, we do." Tyler replied as he started to walk towards the cell door. "And those weird hobbies are going to get us out of here!"

XXXXXX

When she completed the spell she found herself once again the arena type setting where her previous matches had taken place. Glancing over, she saw the melted remains of the Leader mixed with red in a small puddle. Frowning slightly she looked away to survey the rest of the room, finding that it really hadn't changed. The large hole where she had been driven into the wall was still there, same for the one right next to the large entrance where she had been thrown completely through it.

"Oh James." She said, her voice in the tone as if she was playing hide-and-go-seek with a younger kid. "Where are you."

The fireball flew past her as she dodged to the side, rolling on her shoulder and back onto her feet before turning around, a grin on her face as she held her hand out and her scythe reappeared. "There you are."

He seemed very pleased at the moment, probably because she was actually going to be a challenge for him, which he confirmed with his next statement. "Ah, finally, so I can expect you to put up an actual fight this time?"

"If you hadn't ran away I would have kicked your ass in the cells." She replied simply, the scythe spinning slightly in her hand before coming behind her in a diagonal pose as one arm held it behind her, Sage standing straight while her other hand was engulfed in shadows and slightly extended in front of her, completing her battle stance.

"Oh really? Well now you can prove this to me."

"Well first you have to come up with a weapon." Sage said, throwing him off for a second. "It's just a rule, I can't kill someone who is unable to defend themselves."

He growled as she insulted him. "Very well." In front of him a weapon slowly materialized, and it only took a few seconds for her to realize that it was the same dagger he had tried to kill her with all those years ago. Sage scoffed, not impressed with the weapon. But as he grabbed the hilt of the weapon, she could see the darkness slowly covering it seeming to build off the dagger as a base as they slowly lengthened and thickened. Soon she was looking at James as he held a dagger, but the darkness took over once the weapon ended and it looked like a thin one handed sword that was still rather large.

"Not bad." She said, "Still wimpy but it will do."

"You have no idea." He said, his grin growing. Sage readjusted her battle stance and waited, while he stood there, no battle stance, but weapon gripped tightly in one hand. "Shall we begin?"

Sage smirked. "Lets."

XXXXXX

"So how are we suppose to bring her out of the darkness?" Jason asked quickly as they both ran down the various passages in the warehouse. They had no clue where the two would be, so they had to cover the entire place in hopes of finding her in time.

"Right now she's wrapped herself up in anger and hate." Riku explained, his breath even, briefly thinking of how his runs with Sage had seriously payed off. "If we can get her to focus on another emotion, anything at all, then that should be enough to break it. She could do it, but the longer you stay in that form, the harder it becomes."

"Got any suggestions?"

Riku thought briefly for a moment. "Depends on what memories or things you can say that will have a heavier impact on her. So if you said something that meant a lot to her, but was extremely depressing, you'd want to keep that up, however if you could think of things at least somewhat decent happy that would be nicer."

"So instead of making my friend angry I have to try to make her depressed." Jason shook his head as they made a sharp turn down another hallway. "Wonderful."

XXXXXX

_In 13 hours they'll be  
__laying flowers  
__on my life, it's over tonight  
__I'm not messing, no I  
__need your blessing  
__and your promise to live free  
__please do it for me_

Sage ducked fluidly, bringing her scythe around and flipping it to where the two daggers were facing their target before lunging, James moving just in time to miss having his arm ripped from its socket, but not in time to miss the deep gash he received. Glaring at her, he let out a yell as he took his fist and brought it straight down into the cement, creating an indent but also causing the floor to immediately turn into a sea of darkness.

Sage bent down before launching herself up, doing a back flip before landing in a crouched position on the second floor rail where the audience had previously gathered, which was a good forty feet, with her weapon gripped in her hand and behind her as her other hand gripped the rail while she studied the scene. It was almost like waves of darkness lapped at the edges of the room as if they were a regular ocean and lapping onto the beach. James looked up just as the darkness started to climb up the walls before a large waved came down and crashed over him, his form disappearing quickly. She smirked before pushing off the rails, scythe dissolving into nothing as her body moving to execute a smooth dive, her hair flying back from her face before she too disappeared.

His darkness was nothing like hers, she could feel it as she practically swam through the dark waves, not having to hold her breath. His was filled with anger, yes, but it came more from a self-centered man who believed he deserved everything the world had to offer. Hers came from having the few precious things she cared about ripped from her. Unlike her, he felt no sadness for any acts in the past, instead it was loathing.

"Over here." She spun around and just as the sword came down her hand came up, the scythe appeared in a flash and blocking it. As soon as the two weapons connected, the scene changed.

Instead of floating, they were both now on solid ground, glaring at each other as the other tried to gain the upper hand. Her eyes quickly darted around, and saw they were on the roof of their old home. In the backyard people were laughing and having a great time as the grill seared the burgers and hotdogs while kids ran around screaming, and she identified one of them as herself.

Both of them disengaged with a hard shove, pushing the other back, and Sage immediately followed up with a roundhouse kick, landing the attack squarely in James' chest. As he stumbled back she charged him, coming around and creating an arc as it came down.

A dark shield engulfed James and the scythe went straight through it, meeting no resistance. Sage growled as she pulled the weapon out and slammed its end into the roof, her feet planted apart as she studied the black ball of darkness in front of her. "Gonna have to come out some time!" She called, picking her scythe up and starting to circle it.

She heard it coming from behind her, almost striking like a python, and the only thing that gave it away was the sound of the wind being cut through. Sage reeled and batted the attack away with one of her own, the sword and scythe connecting, and the scene shifting.

It was now a peaceful clearing, lush green trees surrounding the area and in a small break for the path there was a stream contently making its way downhill. The sun shown warmly in the area and the leaves colors suggested fall was the season in process.

Sage scowled as she recognized the park that their family would go to, calling it their secret spot. The last time she had been here was when they were celebrating a promotion her father had gotten, about a week before he started drinking. Letting out a yell, she brought her weapon down and the blade of the scythe cut cleanly through one of the thicker trees. She watched as the part that was attacked seemed to smoke out for a moment before regathering itself before it turned solid again. She smirked and turned back to James, who was leaning against one of the trees with his sword temporarily gone. "Every time the weapons clash the memories do as well it seems."

"They find a common memory and send the two wielders there, yes." He confirmed with a nod. "You like?" He asked mockingly.

"Eh, I've seen better." She replied bluntly. In all honesty some of her best memories were here, but did she like the current setting now, no. "So now that we have that explained." The bolt of darkness formed in her hands and she threw it at James, who jumped to the side, not as cleanly as Sage, but enough to keep himself from being pierced through. She charged him, Sage's feelings continue to fuel her power that was running through her veins.

She dodged to the right as his blade came for her in a straight stab while she brought her own weapon around, catching him in the stomach as he attempted to get back. Smirking, she came at him again, this time a diagonal cut across his chest. Howling in pain he started summoning his own dark energy, perhaps finally realizing that he couldn't outmatch her any day in that kind of combat.

A ring of black fire surrounded Sage, slowly shrinking to where it started to get close each second. She was about to simply jump over it when the flames almost seemed to wrap around the top like a cocoon, blocking her in. Frowning slightly she looked down and studied the ground for a second before taking a deep breath. Closing her eyes she knelt down and placed her hand on the smooth grass, surprised slightly that she could feel its soft touch. Pushing that aside she focused and felt the darkness move through her arm and moving into the ground, creating a dark portal. As the flames closed in her body found itself dropping down once the hole was large enough, and quickly closing up to block the attack from dropping down on her as if finished, dissipating into nothing once it as all together shrunk down.

Sage waited momentarily, encased in pitch black darkness, but listening, waiting for any sign of anything above her. When she heard footsteps she grinned and brought her hand up, resting it above her at the top of the spell. Once she had pinpointed the steps a burst of energy left her and the ground surrounding her exploded into a crater, with her quickly jumping up and bringing her weapon around as she faced who she suspected was James.

She froze for a few seconds as she didn't stare up at the man, instead she stared _down_ and the little five year old self who was picking up a white flower from the ground that had reconstructed itself. Sage lowered the scythe and bent down, studying her features back then, noting how she had yet to develop bags under her eyes like she would a few weeks from now. "Still got a lot ahead of you." She whispered. The younger Sage looked up, directly into her older versions eyes, and almost looked like she was studying her. She frowned slightly in concentration, while Sage just stood up and smirked, vaguely remembering the action. She had thought she heard a rustle in the trees or something, nothing major.

A sword came down and sliced through the child's head, cutting her cleanly in half as she continued to look ahead with curious eyes. Sage's head snapped up and she saw James' there, pulling his sword back as the smoke reformed and the child came back, turning to head back to the area where her parents' were. "That's one thing I hate about this spell, they always come back." He laughed and Sage scowled.

"Whatever." She muttered, then came at him, the anger still in her eyes. His own widened some as he brought his sword up to defend him. The metal met.

They disappeared.


	19. Cutting Loose the Past Part 2

Denise's cellphone started to vibrate in her pocket and she jumped. Having been taken away when they were first captures, the feeling caught her off guard. Ripping it out of her pocket she quickly flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Denise. Tell Tyler and the other two that they need to get you three to your place. You're parents are gone so it should make it easier. Once they dropped you off have Tyler get back here-" There was some talking behind him before he spoke up again. "Tyler _and_ Sora to get back here. The fight is going to take a little longer than what we thought, so it's better if you guys are safe while it wraps up."

"But Jason-"

"Denise, just do it." He said it firmly, like an order, and she groaned.

"Just don't get yourself killed." She mumbled, then hung up the phone. "Tyler, you're suppose to drive us back to my place before you and Sora head back here to pick them up."

"Is everything alright?" In answer to his question everyone spun around to watch as a corner of the warehouse caved in on itself, fire erupting from it.

Kairi gulped. "I hope so." She whispered.

XXXXXX

_I'm not alone, I sense it, I sense it  
__All that I said, I meant it, I meant it_

_And I can't believe  
__How much I've wasted my time_

Killing him was harder than she thought. Sure, she could easily just run him through with her daggers at that moment and call it done, but that wouldn't fully kill him, he would still be able to regroup in whatever place he came from and just return to start the whole thing over. No. She had to do it with something more than just the darkness embedded in her weapons, almost like even those needed the extra energy just to pull it off.

Sage slowly walked down the hallway, studying every crack in the cement and every shadow that moved, searching for James. He had made one of his chicken moves again and bailed on her after the memory of the beach they had once gone to on occasion. Her scythe was currently not in her hands, instead they were replaced by fingerless black gloves she was currently wearing, her fingers flexing some as she walked, senses on high alert.

When she heard footsteps, two of them, she paused, listening. When she determined where they were she continued walking down until she hit a crossroad. There was a corridor that went off to her right while the other continued straight in front of her. She looked to the right and saw the source of the sound.

Jason and Riku were sprinting down the hallways, both only just started to breath heavier. Sage chuckled remembering races with Riku she would have. _Remember, these guys stay out of it._ The voice was small, almost like it was just sitting in a corner and watching. Which kinda what it was. Sage's more human side, the one that actually had morals, was just sitting on the sidelines while her more survival side was acting out in the show. _They're the last ones you want to be caught up in the fight with James._

_Yeah yeah. _She thought. _Just more people to support the reason why he has to die._

"Sage, you alright?" They were now standing a few feet away from her, still in the corridor, and looking at her worriedly.

"You serious?" She asked, like it was a stupid question he had just asked. "I'm doing fine. James just pulled another chicken and is running around somewhere." She explained, glancing around. "Everyone besides you two out?"

"They're heading back to Denise's place." Jason explained. Sage thought briefly and it took her a moment before she remembered the long brown haired girl in the glasses. "Sora and Tyler will head back afterwords to pick us up."

"Why didn't you two go with them?" She asked, slightly annoyed. They're chance to get away from the fighting was there, all they were doing was causing more problems.

Riku glanced over at Jason. "To make sure that you would be OK after your fight with James'-"

"Down!" Sage tackled the two to the ground, something that was a pretty big accomplishment considering they were two large teenagers with more than enough muscle. Ignoring them as they grunted in pain she looked behind her to see the blade of darkness had embedded itself in the wall, looking almost like a saw that had just traveled down the hallway. Glancing ahead she could see that indeed there were marks in the wall looking like something had traveled along them.

Jason blinked his eyes a few times to clear his vision before he cursed. "Sage!"

She rolled over on her back and saw the blade coming down on her, going for the killing strike. But milliseconds later her daggers only appeared in her hands and she crossed them, the sword getting caught in her crossing blades. The two enemies glared at each other as the scene changed.

XXXXXX

_In just 8 hours they'll be  
__laying flowers  
__on my life, it's over tonight  
__I'm not messing no I  
__need your blessing  
__and your promise to live free  
__Please do it for me_

As the spell carried out Jason and Riku found themselves falling heavily on the ground, shock shooting up their backs. Ignoring it briefly Riku quickly looked around, and after a moment he was able to discern the place as a child's room, even though it looked pretty ragged for one. He heard a low curse, and turned to see Jason staring with wide eyes at the bed. There was Sage, age nine, sharpening her daggers and seeming at ease. They glanced at each other, both recalling the memory they had witnessed when James' was making Sage go through all of them.

When they heard the crashing front door they quickly pushed themselves up and back against the wall as James' stumbled in, drunk and incoherent. When he stepped for a few times they were about to head for the door, but that idea quickly vanished when the spaced was filled with two struggling forms.

James' and Sage crashed through, both at each others throats as they worked to overpower the other. They rolled right through the memory James', his form vanishing some before the smoke recreated him. When James' was on top of Sage with his hands at her throat she brought her daggers straight across his wrists, her neck being freed before she reached up and slammed her head into his, rolling his disorientated for off of her before pushing herself back up. When she saw them it was obvious she was shocked and angry at the same time before she was pulled back into the fight, her scythe now in her hands as she attacked James.

Riku and Jason stepped back just in time to miss the swing of the long weapon, going back to watching the match in the small room. You had the same people, different ages, fighting against each other for close to the same reasons. Just as younger Sage was thrown against the wall and had a hand wrapped around her throat, slowly lifting her up, the older girl did a roundhouse kick and James' was slammed into the wall next to her younger version, going through some of it to create a large hole. Sage walked up to them and grabbed them by the shirts, dragging them with her to his moaning form before taking her scythe and tapping his sword, muttering a few words as she did so. The air seemed to rush about them as they were thrown back through the various memories before hitting a solid surface again.

The wind slightly moving her hair back from her face, Sage stared with a blank expression as James slowly got up, muttering profanities under his breath. The moonlight suggested that soon it would be nearing dawn as it slowly dimmed. The teenager turned around to her two friends, who were looking around the roof of the warehouse, back to the current time. She glanced down and moved over some to the corner of the building before taking her hand and slamming it into the ground, creating a gaping hole before pushing them towards it. "Get out of here, out of the warehouse. I'll meet up with you guys later."

When they didn't move immediately she growled and shoved them harder. "Go! The last thing I need is worrying about to guys getting themselves killed." She turned, not even wanting to study their expressions as she walked back to the other end of the roof where James' was glaring at her.

_There's only one way to kill him._ Yep, the little voice was back.

"I know, I know." She muttered darkly, not happy with conclusion. "You do know this will kill you, right?"

_Of course I do. But it's better than letting him live, I don't want him terrorizing their lives for as long as they live._

"Seriously though." Sage's darker half softened up some. "Are those guys worth throwing your life away?"

It was silent for a moment before she heard a faint answer. _Yes. They are._ She nodded firmly. "Alright then." Sage drew up every ounce of power she had, letting it slowly start to consume her all over again. There was only one way to kill James' off to where he would be unable to come back again. However, the only chance meant certain death for them as well.

Sage, both the one made of darkness and the normal teenager, mulled this over. Then another thought came to her and this time she smirked, chuckling as she shook her head.

"What are you laughing about." James growled in annoyance.

"Irony." She replied, then glanced at the sun that was slowly peaking over the mountains, illuminating everything it touched. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning over to look at him, and he could see her eyes were one of the darkest shades of gray. Before he had time to react she was in front of him, having crossed the fifteen foot gap between them, and had a dagger rammed straight into his upper left chest, more specifically his heart. She felt her darkness slowly start to leave her, channeled through the dagger and start to spread through him, fast and consuming. "Happy Birthday to me." She whispered in his ear.

XXXXXX

Riku and Jason hadn't really gone far from the hole they had just come through, mostly because they were looking for a way back up to the roof. When they had landed it was almost some unspoken agreement between them that they wouldn't leave, and soon Riku was praising their decision when a thought came upon him.

He froze in the middle of his run, trying to sort his thoughts out to make sure that he wasn't mistaken, working to confirm it. When Jason paused and turned around, he could see in Riku's eyes that something wasn't right.

"Shit!" Jason was slightly surprised by the sudden outburst, then felt his upper arm grabbed harshly and was pulled into a flat out run. "We need to get back up there, now." Riku said through clenched teeth.

"What is it?" The blond asked as as they made a sharp turn. They saw a door with a sign that stated it led to the roof.

"Sage is going to want to kill James and make sure he can never come back. The only way to do it is to make sure he's stripped of his powers when killed so he doesn't have anything to help him return. The only way to do this is to make sure his darkness is overpowered by someone else."

"So Sage is going to use hers, but wasn't that the plan from the beginning?" They started to ascend the stairs.

"No, the plan from the beginning was that she was going to be alive afterwords." Riku paused and looked at Jason, both of them starting to breath heavier. "He has an amount of darkness in him where it's going to take _all_ of her's to make sure he's defeated. But if doesn't save even the smallest amount for herself, she's going to die."

Jason squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. "Let's go." They both started running up the steps again, two at a time. _Don't do it Sage._

XXXXXX

_In just 1 hour they'll be  
__laying flowers  
__on my life, it's over tonight  
__I'm not messing no I  
__need your blessing  
__and your promise to live free  
__please do it for me_

The energy was slowly leaving her, and she could feel herself start to feel weaker each second, but she still kept a tight grip on the dagger, refusing to let go. James' body was sagging, his head bowed into his chest. His form was no doubt dead, but right now she was taking care of the darkness that would be left behind in it, destroying it so that way he could never interfere with the lives she cared about.

Sage thought briefly about her friends as her life was slowly leaving her. She had to admit, she was glad she didn't just let anyone in, because if she had, then the people she knew now probably wouldn't have tried that hard if she wasn't that stubborn. Denise had taken well over a year of threats and verbal abuse from her before she even acknowledged her differently. Tyler had gone through more than a few broken bones for going through her various belongings and Jason, well, he had the job of making sure she didn't kill anyone, and she knew that wasn't the easiest thing in the world.

Then there were her Destiny Island friends. Kairi and Namine had shown her more than enough kindness that she knew she didn't deserve. Sora and Roxas were always working to try and get her to loosen up with their goofy antics. And Riku, he was always supplying her with a challenge, and normally those were one of the few things that could help her clear her mind of her regretful past. All of them had helped her in so many ways, so she was going to return the favor.

She grunted as her legs gave out and dropped to the cement, the body going with her and the dagger still in her grip. She closed her eyes tightly and felt the numbness start to spread throughout her. _Just a little longer._ She begged herself to hang in there, but each moment was getting harder to complete the task. She took a deep breath and thought of her Ogatami, who had taught her the things she had relied on all these years to survive. She was more than indebted to him.

She bit back a yell as a sudden pain racked through her body, and she knew it was almost close. The final person she recalled was her mother. A faint smile came across her lips as she remembered the woman, wishing that she could have been there all those years, wishing she could have protected her, or at least have given her a proper goodbye. She briefly wondered if she would have been proud of her, or disgusted. After thinking it over she decided maybe a little bit of both.

It was now to much, with blackness playing at the edges of her vision she felt the last of her energy siphoned out of her, and the last of James' darkness destroyed. She closed her eyes as the grip on the dagger loosened and her body fell, not even feeling as the cement met up with her. The darkness was all around her now, and surprisingly she actually heard something before she let go.

"_SAGE!"_

XXXXXX

It was warm, she felt like she was enveloped in a warm blanket that was giving her this feeling of sanctuary. A small and content sigh left her. She refused to open her eyes, wanting the moment to last forever. "Sage." Her name was softly whispered, and the voice sounded light, full of love. But she felt that even if she wanted to, the simple task of lifting her eyelids was a task that required energy she didn't think she had. "Sage. Open your eyes."

"But I don't wanna." She mumbled.

"Come on honey." Still soft, still full of love. Finally her curiosity got the best of her, and she forced herself to look around. She was on the ground, and after looking around, she couldn't tell where she was because all she was surrounded by was light. Confusion swept through her. Wasn't she suppose to be dead? "Apparently your friends care for you to much to just let you die." She spun around, quickly climbing to her feet. It took a moment for it to register, but when it did, she was speechless.

She had on a long white dress that was sleeveless and ended at her knees, extra fabric at the waist pulling it down. Her long white hair was pulled back by a clip that flowed down her back. She was barefoot, exposing her small feet that moved her petite form.

Katrina smiled softly at her daughter, who was still fighting for composure. "But...you're dead." She whispered. Unlike with James', she had sounded like she wanted to him to stay that way. Now, however, she wished the words she were speaking weren't true.

"I know honey, I know." She said comfortingly, slowly walking up to her. "And I'm sorry for it too."

Sage worked to keep her voice from cracking. "You weren't there." She whispered. "You weren't there to see anything I did." She frowned some. "But I guess most of the time that wasn't a bad thing."

"Honey, just because you've killed doesn't make you a bad person." Katrina was now a foot away from Sage, and had her arms resting gently on her shoulder. "It doesn't mean that you aren't good enough for the world."

A tear slipped down Sage's cheek. "I'm so sorry. I should have been there to protect you."

"Shh." Katrina brought her daughter in a loving hug. "It's not your fault, it never was." A sob escaped Sage as she returned the gesture, clutching tightly and hoping that if she never let go, she would never disappear.

"I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too honey." Her mother replied. "More than you can ever know." She gently stroked her daughters hair. "But thankfully you have friends who are there to take care of you, to help you."

"I'm surprised they don't hate me yet." Sage murmured, her head resting on her mom's shoulder and facing away.

"Why would they? Like I said, just because you've kill before doesn't mean you're a bad person." They pulled apart and Katrina looked her daughter over, a smile on her features. "My, you have grown, haven't you?"

"A lot can happen in twelve years." Sage replied with a small smile of her own. It was silent for a moment before Sage finally asked the question she had been dreading. "So, what happens now?"

"Like I said, you're friends care about you to much to just let you die." She laughed softly, and Sage was reminded how every day she had longed to hear it again. "So you go back to them, and live life without any regrets or guilt."

"If that's even allowed." Sage said, rolling her eyes. Katrina sighed and took her daughter's face in her hands, slim fingers resting on her cheeks.

"You better do it Missy. I don't want to have to sit and watch my daughter live life miserably for the rest of her life. Twelve years was hard enough." Sage smirked some.

"Got it."

Katrina smiled softly and lightly kissed her daughter's forehead. "I'm proud of you, and don't ever forget that. Alright?" Sage nodded, having the answer to her question making it seem like life wasn't against her anymore. "I love you honey. Please, take care of yourself."

"Love you too mom, and don't worry, I will." She grinned some, and gave the woman a soft kiss on the cheek.

Her mother smiled at Sage, and it was at that moment that her body felt weaker. Sage closed her eyes and felt as if the air was rushing past her as she fell, briefly wondering what was happening before her train of thought was cut off.

XXXXXX

Voices, lots of them, talking all at once. Sage was annoyed with them at first, wishing they would shut up so she could go to sleep. The next things she realized was that her body was aching, and she wondering if she had just gotten the crap beaten out of her by the gang members or something.

Slowly, piece by piece, it started coming back to her. The fight at her house, her friends, the fight at the arena. Then the heavier pieces. Her _father_ coming back for some revenge, the memories playing in front of her like a big screen TV, then giving into the darkness, letting it consume her so she could beat him.

Sage groaned, suddenly getting a major headache. Shifting slightly, she could feel her head was on something soft. The voices had died down, and it was quiet. This worried her, was something wrong? Decided she couldn't put it off any longer, she slowly cracked open her eyes.

"She's awake!"


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue to the story. Thanks to everyone who read it, hopefully most of you guys enjoyed it as well. This was pretty fun so I'll probably start a new story pretty soon. Hope you guys enjoy the rest of the summer.  
-Shadoword**

_'Cause if it wasn't for all  
__That you tried to do  
__I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through  
__So I wanna say thank you_

_'Cause it  
__Makes me that much stronger  
__Makes me work a little bit harder  
__Makes me that much wiser  
__So thanks for making me a fighter_

_Made me learn a little bit faster  
__Made my skin a little bit thicker  
__Makes me that much smarter  
__So thanks for making me a fighter_

The sun was warmer that day, shining down everywhere as the people walked along the streets lined by the various stores. Their voices battling against each other, the overall mood and atmosphere was nice. Sage was one of these people, not the ones who were talking over each other, but who was walking through the streets and enjoying the sun's warm rays. Her black hair was pulled back leaving two white strands to frame her face which she currently had tucked behind her ears. She was dressed in a pair of black shorts but had on a white spaghetti strap t-shirt while she wore simple black and white shoes. The only other color was silver, displayed around her neck as a chain with a black charm hanging from it, a black dragon with it's serpentine body wrapped around a sword, a birthday present from everyone. To wrap it up she had a backpack hanging by it's strap in her hand, letting it swing slightly as she walked.

Sage made a turn down one of the streets and found herself walking towards the docks that stretched out into the beach. Apparently everyone wanted to meet there today, and she couldn't really blame them. A few minutes later she took off her shoes and socks and placed them in her bag, starting to walk down the beach, feeling the sand fill in the spaces between her feet.

Various people were at the beach that day, so she just walked until she saw the familiar white with pink polka-dot tent that Kairi adored. She smirked when she saw Sora asleep under it, with Kairi talking to Denise in the shade as well. The others were in the water, and she saw Riku currently dunking Tyler while Jason was copying the process just with Roxas. She chuckled and shook her head, noticing how Namine giggled as she sat at the edge of the beach, the water rushing up to her feet to engulf them but not getting farther as it moved back.

Denise glanced her way and smiled, waving cheerfully at her friend. "Hi Sage!"

Kairi followed the gesture and smacked Sora on the head, waking him up to tell him Sage was there. He groggily looked over before he grinned at her, and she laughed, shaking her head. "Seriously, how can you sleep so much and not get bored with it?" She questioned him.

"Simple. Just don't get bored." She rolled her eyes at this and dropped her bag on him, knocking the breath out of him. "What's up with twiddle one and twiddle two?" She motioned towards the beach where Roxas and Tyler were trying to claw there way free from their captors, and noticeably failing.

"Can't remember." Denise said. "Something about wrecking Jason's cars and messing with Riku's movie collection."

Sage shrugged. "Makes sense."

"Help!" Roxas yelled before being submerged again. People glanced over warily at them but Riku just waved it off. "Just showing them how to swim under stress." Kairi and Denise started up in fits of laughter. Denise pulled out a camera and asked Sage to call them out of the water.

Sage put her thumb and forefinger in her mouth before letting a clear and loud whistle escape from her, easily catching the guys' attention. Finally letting Roxas and Tyler breath, they started back up to the sand shores of the beach. "Hey Sage." Riku greeted.

"Hey." Jason pulled her into a side hug, and smirked down on her. "What, no 'hey' for me?" The water was soaking through her clothes and she noted how it was ice cold.

"Nah, knew you'd ruin my clothes so why give you that luxary." He chuckled and gave her a tight hug real quick before letting go, grabbing a towel to dry off his hair.

"Alright guys, stand in front of the water, it's time for pictures!" Denise cheered, Kairi had also brought a camera. Unfortunately for Sora and Roxas, before they could run Riku grabbed them both in death grips by their shoulders and led them towards the water. "Just stay still so we can get this over with."

Sage had Tyler by the back of the neck and was also pushing him forward, smirking as the youth's shoulders slumped in defeat. "You're mean." He said.

"So I've been told." She replied. From left to right Sora, Roxas, Namine and Tyler all sat in the sand, while Riku, Sage, and Jason stood behind them. Kairi and Denise put their camera's on a time before setting them down on the cooler and running towards the group, Kairi sitting next to Sora while Denise stood next to Sage and had her arm draped over her shoulder. "Alright guys!"

Sora and Roxas did bunny ears behind each others head's while Jason rested his hand on Tyler's head, ruffling his hair while his other hand rested in one of the pockets in his swim shorts. Kairi and Namine were laughing while Sage held up a rock sign in her fingers, Denise having her second hand right next to it to make a peace out sign. Riku simply stood there with his arms crossed but had a faint smile on his lips. The camera flashed while everyone was laughing, having some sort of a smile or grin on their face.

Later on Sage would put that picture on her desk, and each time she would look at it be reminded of the family that had slowly adopted her over the years, making sure they were always there to lend a helping hand and never leave her when she needed it the most.


	21. The Persistent Past Playlist

**Ok, thanks a ton to everyone who read the story and left reviews, they helped big time and it was nice knowing what I wrote didn't suck. This is the playlist for the entire story, the chapter that had the dance, and the final fight. Just thought I'd post it before I started working on my second story. Enjoy.  
-Shadoword**

**The Persistent Past:**

Disturbed - The Night  
Shinedown - Sound Of Madness  
3 Doors Down - It's Not My Time  
Kazzer - Fueled By Adrenaline  
Korn - Shoots and Ladders  
Ill Nino - What Comes Around  
Jem - They  
The Birthday Massacre - Looking Glass  
P!nk - Get The Party Started  
Breaking Benjamin - Until The End  
Within Temptation - Angels  
Disturbed - Indestructable  
Breaking Benjamin - Had Enough  
Linkin Park - One Step Closer  
Disturbed - Overburdened  
Scary Kids Scaring Kids - Watch Me Bleed  
Jem - 24  
Christina Aguilera - Fighter

**Partying With DJs: **

DJ Satomi - Castles In the Sky  
Marz ft. Pack and Mummies - Do What You Do Front, Back, Side to Side  
Cascada - Because the Night  
Pain and Prodigy - Shut Your Mouth Remix  
NAOKI FT. . - A Geisha's Dream  
Rhianna - Don't Stop the Music  
Paper Tongues - Ride To CAlifornia  
P!nk - God Is A DJ  
Manian - Welcome to the Club (DJ Gollum Remix)  
The Killers - Spaceman  
Gwen Stafani - What You Waiting For  
Family Force 5 - Get Your Back Off The Wall  
Dirty Boyz Original - Rock Ya Mind  
Ciara FT. Missy Eliot - One, Two, Step  
Captain Jack - Dream A Dream  
Alex Gaudina - Destination Calabria (Radio Edit)

**Cutting Loose The Past Part 1/Part 2:**

Jem - 24  
We Are the Fallen - Tear The World Down  
Within Temptation - Stand My Ground  
Three Days Grace - Home  
Skillet - Awake And Alive  
Rise Against - Prayer of a Refugee  
RED - Death Of Me  
Papa Roach - Scars  
Linkin Park - Bleed It Out  
Hoobastank - First Of Me  
Godsmack - Awake  
Disturbed - Violence Fetish  
Coal Chamber - Something Told Me  
Breaking Benjamin - I Will Not Bow  
Avenged Sevenfold - Bat Country  
Adema - Immortal


End file.
